2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Breitfelder
A German surname referring to a person from a broad field or meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Breitfelder. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Breitfelder surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Breitfelder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Breitfelder, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Breitfelder
The surname Breitfelder originated in Germany, likely in the late medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the German words "breit" meaning broad and "feld" meaning field, referring to someone who lived near or owned a broad field or clearing.
The name was first recorded in the 14th century in various German regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg. Some early spellings included Breitfelt, Breitfeldt, and Breitfeller. The Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, mentions a Heinricus Breitfelder in 1376.
In the 16th century, the name appears in church records from the town of Neustadt an der Aisch in Bavaria, suggesting a concentration of Breitfelders in that area. One notable bearer was Hans Breitfelder, a farmer and landowner who lived in Neustadt in the late 1500s.
The Breitfelder name also has a presence in the historical records of Württemberg. A document from 1652 mentions a Jakob Breitfelder who was a member of the council in the town of Nürtingen. In the 18th century, Johann Georg Breitfelder (1712-1789) was a prominent theologian and author from Stuttgart.
Another early bearer of the name was Christoph Breitfelder, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Schwabach, near Nuremberg, in the 17th century. His descendants continued to live in the Schwabach area for several generations.
In the 19th century, the Breitfelder name spread more widely throughout Germany and beyond. Notable individuals included Karl Breitfelder (1833-1901), a politician and journalist from Baden-Württemberg, and August Breitfelder (1808-1891), a pastor and educator from Saxony.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Breitfelder
Among Census respondents with the surname Breitfelder, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Breitfelder bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Breitfelder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Breitfelder
Breitfelder appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+11 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,759 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,608 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 1,759 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,608 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Breitfelder surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #143,149 | #145,757 | -1.8% |
| Count | 116 | 115 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Breitfelder bearers went from 116 to 115 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,608 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #145,757.
FAQ
Breitfelder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Breitfelder?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Breitfelder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Breitfelder?
Breitfelder ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Breitfelder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Breitfelder.
Has Breitfelder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Breitfelder went from 116 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Breitfelder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Breitfelder, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Breitfelder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Breitfelder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (1.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Breitfelder (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Breitfelder mean?
A German surname referring to a person from a broad field or meadow. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Breitfelder (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Breitfelder?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.