Find out how popular the last name Feigenbaum is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Feigenbaum.

Feigenbaum, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Feigenbaum surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Feigenbaum in America

Feigenbaum is the 23532nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Feigenbaum surname appeared 1,079 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Feigenbaum.

We can also compare 2010 data for Feigenbaum to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Feigenbaum

The surname Feigenbaum is of German origin, derived from the combination of the German words "feige" meaning "fig" and "baum" meaning "tree," effectively translating to "fig tree." This suggests that the name likely originated from a place where fig trees grew abundantly or from someone who lived near or owned a fig tree orchard.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Feigenbaum can be traced back to the 16th century in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It is believed that the name may have originated as a descriptive surname, given to individuals who lived near or worked with fig trees, or as a topographic name, referring to a specific location with a significant presence of fig trees.

One of the earliest known references to the name Feigenbaum is found in the records of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a merchant named Hans Feigenbaum is mentioned in a document dated 1548. Another notable figure is Johann Feigenbaum, a Bavarian farmer born in 1672, who is credited with introducing the cultivation of a particular variety of fig trees to the region.

The name Feigenbaum can also be found in various historical records and manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries, including church registers, tax records, and land ownership documents. Some variations in spelling, such as Feigenbaumb, Feygenbaum, or Feygenbawm, were common during those times due to regional dialects and inconsistent record-keeping practices.

Notable individuals with the surname Feigenbaum throughout history include:

1. Karl Feigenbaum (1820-1892), a German botanist and horticulturist known for his contributions to the study of fig tree species and their cultivation.
2. Maria Feigenbaum (1868-1942), a German political activist and one of the pioneers of the women's suffrage movement in Bavaria.
3. Heinrich Feigenbaum (1901-1978), a German-American mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of chaos theory and the study of nonlinear systems.
4. Peter Feigenbaum (1619-1687), a German clockmaker and inventor from Nuremberg, renowned for his innovative clock designs and mechanisms.
5. Anna Feigenbaum (1884-1962), a German-American artist and sculptor known for her works depicting scenes from German folklore and rural life.

While the surname Feigenbaum is predominantly found in Germany and regions with German heritage, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Feigenbaum

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Feigenbaum.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Feigenbaum was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Feigenbaum has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Feigenbaum was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Feigenbaum, please contact us.

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