2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Buttweiler
A German surname derived from a place name and meaning "one from Buttweiler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Buttweiler. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buttweiler 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Buttweiler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buttweiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buttweiler
The surname Buttweiler is believed to have originated in the German regions of Bavaria and Hesse during the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century. It is thought to be derived from a combination of the German words "Butt" meaning a rounded or protruding shape, and "Weiler" which refers to a small village or hamlet. This suggests that the name may have initially been a topographic descriptor for someone living in a settlement with a distinct rounded or protruding geographical feature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Buttweiler can be found in the Weissenburger Lehenhof archives from 1487, which mentions a Johannes Buttweiler from the village of Buttweiler near Karlstadt, Bavaria. Another early record is the Kirchenbuch (church book) of Erbach, Hesse, which lists the marriage of Hans Buttweiler and Margaretha Schmitt in 1562.
In the 17th century, historical records indicate that a Caspar Buttweiler was a prominent blacksmith in the town of Miltenberg, Bavaria, and his work can still be seen on the ornate wrought iron gates of the town's Stadtkirche (town church) which date back to 1675.
One of the earliest known Buttweilers to emigrate from Germany was Johann Georg Buttweiler, who was born in 1712 in Darmstadt, Hesse. He immigrated to the British colonies in North America in 1735, settling in the area that is now Pennsylvania.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the surname Buttweiler, including:
1. Wilhelm Buttweiler (1820-1892), a German architect known for designing several prominent buildings in Frankfurt, including the Alte Oper.
2. Amalie Buttweiler (1848-1920), a German educator and women's rights activist who founded one of the first girls' secondary schools in Bavaria.
3. Otto Buttweiler (1876-1957), a German-American engineer who played a key role in the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
4. Hildegard Buttweiler (1903-1991), a German novelist and playwright whose works often explored themes of social justice and the experiences of women in the early 20th century.
5. Erich Buttweiler (1921-2003), a German-born American physicist who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II and later worked on the Apollo space program.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buttweiler
Among Census respondents with the surname Buttweiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Buttweiler 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 Buttweiler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 113
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buttweiler
Buttweiler 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,949 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+16 bearers (+15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,995 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 8,949 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+15.4%) | Up 13,995 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 Buttweiler 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 | #156,044 | #142,049 | 9.0% |
| Count | 104 | 120 | 15.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buttweiler bearers went from 104 to 120 (+15.4% change). The surname moved up 13,995 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #142,049.
FAQ
Buttweiler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buttweiler?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Buttweiler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Buttweiler?
Buttweiler ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Buttweiler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Buttweiler.
Has Buttweiler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buttweiler went from 104 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 16 (+15.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Buttweiler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buttweiler, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Hispanic (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 Buttweiler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buttweiler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Black (1.7%), Hispanic (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 Buttweiler (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 Buttweiler mean?
A German surname derived from a place name and meaning "one from Buttweiler." 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 Buttweiler (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 have the last name Buttweiler?
See how many people have the last name Buttweiler on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.