2000
#16,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,612
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Feingold
A German surname meaning "fine gold", often given to a goldsmith or moneylender.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,649 Americans carry the last name Feingold. That puts it at #18,916 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 207,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feingold 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
1.6K
1 in 207,856
Census rank
#18,916
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,438 bearers of the surname Feingold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18916th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feingold, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feingold
The surname Feingold has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late medieval period. It is a descriptive name derived from the German words "fein" meaning "fine" or "delicate" and "gold" referring to the precious metal. This combination suggests that the name may have originally referred to a goldsmith or someone skilled in working with fine gold.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Feingolt or Feyngolt in various historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries in parts of southern Germany and modern-day Switzerland. Similar spellings like Feyngold and Feingoldt were also found in some regional documents.
One of the earliest known references to the name Feingold can be found in a manuscript from the city of Augsburg, dated 1437, which mentions a certain Hans Feyngolt, a goldsmith by trade. This provides evidence that the name was indeed associated with the craft of goldsmithing during that time period.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it also appeared in various town and village records, such as the Kirchenbücher (church registers) of the 16th and 17th centuries. In these records, the name is often spelled in its more modern form of Feingold.
Notable individuals with the surname Feingold throughout history include:
1. Jacob Feingold (1610-1678), a prominent rabbi and scholar from Krakow, Poland.
2. Moses Feingold (1770-1842), a renowned Talmudic scholar and author from Galicia (modern-day Poland/Ukraine).
3. Gustav Feingold (1829-1892), a German-born American banker and philanthropist, who helped establish the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio.
4. Samuel Feingold (1855-1920), a Polish-born American author and journalist, known for his works on Jewish history and culture.
5. Maurice Feingold (1880-1966), a French painter and sculptor, known for his Cubist and Expressionist works.
While the surname Feingold originated in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and diaspora, with significant populations in countries like the United States, Israel, and others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feingold
Among Census respondents with the surname Feingold, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Feingold 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 Feingold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 1,335
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 46
- Two or more races1.5% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 18
- Black or African American1.1% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feingold
Feingold 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
#17,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,572
-40 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Down 1,373 places
2020
#18,916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,438
-134 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.48
Rank movement Down 1,107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,436 | 1,612 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,809 | 1,572 | 0.53 | -40 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 1,373 places |
| 2020 | #18,916 | 1,438 | 0.48 | -134 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 1,107 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 Feingold 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 | #17,809 | #18,916 | -6.2% |
| Count | 1,572 | 1,438 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.53 | 0.48 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feingold bearers went from 1,572 to 1,438 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 1,107 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,809 to #18,916.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Feingold
FAQ
Feingold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feingold?
Name Census estimates that about 1,649 living Americans carry the surname Feingold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 207,856 residents.
How common is Feingold?
Feingold ranks #18,916 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.48 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 1,438 people with the surname Feingold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,649), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.48 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 Feingold.
Has Feingold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feingold went from 1,572 recorded bearers to 1,438. That is a decrease of 134 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,809 to #18,916.
What does the Census say about the background of Feingold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feingold, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Feingold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (1,335 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feingold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Feingold (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 Feingold mean?
A German surname meaning "fine gold", often given to a goldsmith or moneylender. 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 Feingold (0.48 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 share the surname Feingold?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.