2000
#22,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,072
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.40
Rare Last name
Eisenhower
A surname meaning "iron craftsman" or "metalworker" in German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,156 Americans carry the last name Eisenhower. That puts it at #25,641 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 296,500 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eisenhower 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
1.2K
1 in 296,500
Census rank
#25,641
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,008 bearers of the surname Eisenhower in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 25641st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenhower, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eisenhower
The surname Eisenhower originated in Germany, where it was derived from the German words "eisen" meaning "iron" and "hauer" meaning "hewer" or "cutter". This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with an occupation involving the mining or forging of iron.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. Some variations in spelling included Eisenhauer, Eisenhawer, and Eysenhawer.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in church records and tax rolls in the town of Karlsbrunn, located in what is now modern-day Poland. One notable individual from this time was Hans Eisenhower, born in 1612, who was a blacksmith by trade.
As the Eisenhower family migrated to different parts of Europe, the name took on various local adaptations and spellings. In the Netherlands, for instance, it was sometimes rendered as Ysenhauer or Ysenhoven.
In the late 18th century, a branch of the Eisenhower family immigrated to the United States, settling in Pennsylvania. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was Jacob Eisenhower, who was born in 1746 and served as a captain in the Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolutionary War.
The name gained further prominence in the 20th century with Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, who was born in 1890 and served from 1953 to 1961. His birthplace in Denison, Texas, is now a state park and historic site.
Other notable individuals with the surname Eisenhower include Milton Eisenhower (1899-1985), brother of Dwight D. Eisenhower and a prominent educator and author; John S. D. Eisenhower (1922-2013), a military historian and son of Dwight D. Eisenhower; and David Eisenhower (born 1948), a historian and grandson of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eisenhower
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenhower, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Eisenhower 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 Eisenhower surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 955
- Two or more races2.8% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eisenhower
Eisenhower 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
#23,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,073
+1 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Down 1,231 places
2020
#25,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,008
-65 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Down 2,007 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,403 | 1,072 | 0.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,634 | 1,073 | 0.36 | +1 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 1,231 places |
| 2020 | #25,641 | 1,008 | 0.34 | -65 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 2,007 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 Eisenhower 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 | #23,634 | #25,641 | -8.5% |
| Count | 1,073 | 1,008 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.36 | 0.34 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eisenhower bearers went from 1,073 to 1,008 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 2,007 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,634 to #25,641.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Eisenhower
FAQ
Eisenhower surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eisenhower?
Name Census estimates that about 1,156 living Americans carry the surname Eisenhower. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 296,500 residents.
How common is Eisenhower?
Eisenhower ranks #25,641 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.34 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 1,008 people with the surname Eisenhower. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,156), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.34 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 Eisenhower.
Has Eisenhower become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eisenhower went from 1,073 recorded bearers to 1,008. That is a decrease of 65 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #23,634 to #25,641.
What does the Census say about the background of Eisenhower?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenhower, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Eisenhower in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (955 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eisenhower appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Eisenhower (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 Eisenhower mean?
A surname meaning "iron craftsman" or "metalworker" in German. 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 Eisenhower (0.34 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 common is the surname Eisenhower?
You can see how many people are called Eisenhower on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.