2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Elslager
A surname of Dutch or German origin meaning "eel catcher."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Elslager. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Elslager 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Elslager in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Elslager, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Elslager
The surname Elslager originated in Germany in the 16th century. It is derived from the Low German words "els" meaning elk and "lager" meaning camp or encampment, likely referring to a hunting camp or settlement near an area inhabited by elk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Elslager name appears in the town records of Lübeck, Germany in 1587, where a Heinrich Elslager is mentioned as a merchant and landowner. The name is also found in records from the nearby town of Rostock around the same time period.
In the 17th century, the Elslager surname began appearing in Dutch records, suggesting that families with this name had migrated from northern Germany to the Low Countries. A notable bearer of the name was Jan Elslager (1623-1688), a Dutch naval officer who served in the Anglo-Dutch Wars.
During the 18th century, some Elslagers immigrated to the American colonies, with records showing the arrival of Johannes Elslager in Philadelphia in 1749. His descendants settled in Pennsylvania and later migrated westward.
One prominent bearer of the Elslager name was Friedrich Elslager (1776-1858), a German-born farmer and politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in the early 19th century.
Another notable Elslager was Johann Elslager (1845-1922), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee County Historical Society and the Pabst Mansion.
In the 20th century, Carl Elslager (1915-1998) was a successful American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Elslager Foundation, which supported various charitable causes.
While the Elslager name is not as common as some other German surnames, it has a long and interesting history, tracing its roots back to the hunting camps and settlements of northern Germany in the 16th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elslager
Among Census respondents with the surname Elslager, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Elslager 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 Elslager surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.3% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Elslager
Elslager 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
+9 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 330 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-10 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,190 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.4%) | Down 330 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 9,190 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 Elslager 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 | #152,339 | -6.4% |
| Count | 116 | 106 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Elslager bearers went from 116 to 106 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 9,190 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #152,339.
FAQ
Elslager surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Elslager?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Elslager. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Elslager?
Elslager ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Elslager. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Elslager.
Has Elslager become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Elslager went from 116 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Elslager?
Among Census respondents with the surname Elslager, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Elslager in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Elslager appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.3%), Hispanic (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Elslager (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 Elslager mean?
A surname of Dutch or German origin meaning "eel catcher." 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 Elslager (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 are called Elslager?
Want to know how many people have the surname Elslager? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.