2000
#8,594
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,525
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Feist
A surname of German origin referring to a pugnacious or high-spirited person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,948 Americans carry the last name Feist. That puts it at #9,117 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,817 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feist 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Feist with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 86,817
Census rank
#9,117
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,443 bearers of the surname Feist in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9117th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feist, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feist
The surname Feist originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "veist," which means "fat" or "plump." This suggests that the name was initially a descriptive nickname given to someone of a stout or robust build.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Feist surname can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Germany, from the year 1525. The entry refers to a certain "Hans Feist," indicating that the name was already in use at that time.
In the 17th century, the Feist name appeared in various German church records and tax registers. For instance, a "Peter Feist" was listed as a landowner in the village of Rottenburg in 1632, while a "Johann Feist" was recorded as a resident of the city of Nürnberg in 1671.
The name Feist also has connections to several place names in Germany. The town of Feistenhausen, located in the state of Bavaria, is believed to be derived from the same root word as the surname. Additionally, the village of Feistritzsattel in Austria may also have a linguistic link to the name.
Notable individuals with the Feist surname include:
1. Johann Feist (1535-1592), a German Protestant theologian and writer.
2. Anselm Feist (1701-1778), a German painter and engraver from Augsburg.
3. Kaspar Feist (1768-1846), a German writer and teacher from Saxony.
4. Wilhelm Feist (1828-1889), a German painter and illustrator from Berlin.
5. Siegmund Feist (1865-1943), a German philologist and linguist known for his work on Indo-European languages.
While the Feist surname is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with historical German settlements or influence. However, the name's origins and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the heart of Germany, where it emerged as a descriptive nickname several centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feist
Among Census respondents with the surname Feist, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Feist 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 Feist surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 3,114
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 126
- Two or more races3.1% · 108
- Black or African American1.7% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feist
Feist 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
#8,681
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,784
+259 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#9,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,443
-341 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 436 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,594 | 3,525 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,681 | 3,784 | 1.28 | +259 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #9,117 | 3,443 | 1.15 | -341 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 436 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 Feist 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 | #8,681 | #9,117 | -5.0% |
| Count | 3,784 | 3,443 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.15 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feist bearers went from 3,784 to 3,443 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 436 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,681 to #9,117.
FAQ
Feist surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feist?
Name Census estimates that about 3,948 living Americans carry the surname Feist. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,817 residents.
How common is Feist?
Feist ranks #9,117 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,443 people with the surname Feist. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,948), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Feist.
Has Feist become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feist went from 3,784 recorded bearers to 3,443. That is a decrease of 341 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,681 to #9,117.
What does the Census say about the background of Feist?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feist, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Feist in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (3,114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feist appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Feist (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 Feist mean?
A surname of German origin referring to a pugnacious or high-spirited person. 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 Feist (1.15 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 Feist?
Want to know how many people are called Feist? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.