2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fahrlander
A surname for someone from the Fahrland region or related to a family originating there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Fahrlander. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fahrlander 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Fahrlander in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahrlander, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fahrlander
The surname Fahrlander is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the 14th century. It is derived from the German words "fahren" meaning "to travel" and "lander" meaning "land" or "region." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who traveled frequently or lived in a different region from where they were born.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fahrlander can be found in the archives of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Fahrlander was mentioned in a document dated 1387. This indicates that the name was already in use in the late medieval period in Southern Germany.
In the 16th century, the name Fahrlander appears in several records from the city of Augsburg, which was a prominent trading center at the time. This suggests that some individuals with this surname may have been involved in commerce or traveled as merchants.
A notable bearer of the Fahrlander name was Johannes Fahrlander, a Lutheran theologian and professor who lived from 1530 to 1600. He taught at the University of Jena and was known for his writings on the Protestant Reformation.
Another person of historical significance was Maria Fahrlander, a German artist and painter who lived from 1680 to 1755. She was renowned for her still life paintings and is considered one of the most important female artists of the Baroque period in Germany.
In the 18th century, the Fahrlander family was prominent in the region of Swabia, located in southwestern Germany. Johann Georg Fahrlander, born in 1721, was a successful merchant and landowner who played an active role in the local community.
Moving into the 19th century, Friedrich Fahrlander, born in 1824, was a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He served as a professor at the University of Leipzig and was elected a member of the prestigious Prussian Academy of Sciences.
While the Fahrlander surname is primarily associated with Germany, it has also been documented in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and trade patterns. However, the name remains relatively uncommon outside of its region of origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fahrlander
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahrlander, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Fahrlander 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 Fahrlander surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.2% · 6
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fahrlander
Fahrlander 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+11 bearers (+10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,739 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,920 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.4%) | Up 1,739 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,920 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 Fahrlander 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 | #142,108 | #145,028 | -2.1% |
| Count | 117 | 116 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fahrlander bearers went from 117 to 116 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,920 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #145,028.
FAQ
Fahrlander surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fahrlander?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Fahrlander. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Fahrlander?
Fahrlander ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Fahrlander. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Fahrlander.
Has Fahrlander become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fahrlander went from 117 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Fahrlander?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fahrlander, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Fahrlander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fahrlander appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Fahrlander (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 Fahrlander mean?
A surname for someone from the Fahrland region or related to a family originating there. 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 Fahrlander (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 Fahrlander?
You can see how common the surname Fahrlander is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.