2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ein
A surname derived from the German word "ein" meaning "one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Ein. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ein 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Ein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ein, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ein
The surname EIN originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "ein," which means "one" or "a single." This surname was likely given to someone who was the only child or the oldest child in a family.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname EIN can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the former principality of Anhalt in central Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Annales Pegavienses, a medieval chronicle from the town of Pegau, Saxony, which dates back to the 14th century.
In the 15th century, the surname EIN appeared in the records of the city of Cologne, where a merchant named Johann Ein is mentioned in a trade document from 1487. Another notable individual with this surname was Hans Ein, a master stonemason who worked on the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche (Church of the Holy Spirit) in Heidelberg in the early 16th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname EIN was Konrad Ein, a Benedictine monk who lived in the Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland in the late 12th century. He is credited with transcribing several important manuscripts, including works by the Roman philosopher Cicero.
Another significant figure was Philipp Ein, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived in the 16th century. Born in Worms in 1504, he studied law at the University of Heidelberg and later became a professor of law at the University of Ingolstadt. He wrote several influential works on legal theory and practices.
In the 17th century, the surname EIN was also found in the records of the town of Zerbst, in the modern-day state of Saxony-Anhalt, where a family named Ein owned a substantial amount of land and property. One member of this family, Hans Ein, was a respected merchant and served as a town councilor in the mid-1600s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ein
Among Census respondents with the surname Ein, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Ein 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 Ein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.0% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander30.0% · 30
- Two or more races8.0% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ein
Ein appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-4 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 362 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.8%) | Up 362 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 Ein 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 | #155,682 | 0.2% |
| Count | 104 | 100 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ein bearers went from 104 to 100 (-3.8% change). The surname moved up 362 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #155,682.
FAQ
Ein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ein?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Ein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Ein?
Ein ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Ein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Ein.
Has Ein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ein went from 104 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Ein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ein, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Ein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.0% (61 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (30.0%), Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Ein (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 Ein mean?
A surname derived from the German word "ein" meaning "one." 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 Ein (0.03 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 surname Ein?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.