2000
#21,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,139
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.42
Rare Last name
Feit
An occupational surname derived from the German word "feit", meaning a peddler or small trader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,493 Americans carry the last name Feit. That puts it at #20,612 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 229,574 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feit 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
1.5K
1 in 229,574
Census rank
#20,612
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,302 bearers of the surname Feit in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20612th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feit, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.3%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feit
The surname FEIT is of German origin, originating in the Middle Ages around the 12th or 13th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German word "feito," which means "fat" or "plump." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone of a stout or robust build.
The earliest recorded instances of the FEIT surname can be traced back to various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It is likely that the name emerged independently in different areas, as it was common for descriptive nicknames to arise organically in various local communities.
One of the first known bearers of the FEIT surname was Hans Feit, a merchant and landowner who lived in the city of Nuremberg, Germany, in the late 15th century. Records from the time mention his involvement in local trade and land transactions.
In the 16th century, the FEIT name appeared in several historical documents, including the Kirchenbücher (church records) of various German towns and villages. For instance, the baptismal records of St. Peter's Church in Cologne, Germany, list the birth of Johann Feit in 1567.
As the FEIT surname spread across German-speaking regions, it also underwent minor spelling variations, such as Feitt, Feyt, and Feith. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal practices.
One notable bearer of the FEIT surname was Johann Georg Feit, a renowned German composer and organist who lived from 1679 to 1734. He served as the Kapellmeister (chapel master) at the court of the Elector of Saxony and composed numerous sacred works and instrumental pieces.
Another individual of historical significance was Friedrich Wilhelm Feit, a German military officer born in 1792. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as a general in the Prussian army, earning several decorations for his service.
In the 19th century, the FEIT surname gained prominence in the field of academia. One such example is Karl Feit, a German philologist and scholar born in 1818, who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts.
As German emigrants began to settle in other parts of the world, the FEIT surname spread to various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. However, the name's origins and historical roots can be traced back to its Germanic beginnings in the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feit
Among Census respondents with the surname Feit, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.3%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Feit 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 Feit surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 1,233
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 30
- Two or more races1.2% · 15
- Black or African American0.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feit
Feit 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
#30,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 767
-372 bearers (-32.7%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 9,036 places
2020
#20,612
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,302
+535 bearers (+69.8%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Up 9,830 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,406 | 1,139 | 0.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #30,442 | 767 | 0.26 | -372 bearers (-32.7%) | Down 9,036 places |
| 2020 | #20,612 | 1,302 | 0.44 | +535 bearers (+69.8%) | Up 9,830 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 Feit 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 | #30,442 | #20,612 | 32.3% |
| Count | 767 | 1,302 | 69.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.26 | 0.44 | 67.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feit bearers went from 767 to 1,302 (+69.8% change). The surname moved up 9,830 positions in the national ranking, going from #30,442 to #20,612.
FAQ
Feit surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feit?
Name Census estimates that about 1,493 living Americans carry the surname Feit. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 229,574 residents.
How common is Feit?
Feit ranks #20,612 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 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 1,302 people with the surname Feit. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,493), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 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 Feit.
Has Feit become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feit went from 767 recorded bearers to 1,302. That is an increase of 535 (+69.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #30,442 to #20,612.
What does the Census say about the background of Feit?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feit, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.3%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Feit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (1,233 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feit appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Hispanic (2.3%), Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Feit (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 Feit mean?
An occupational surname derived from the German word "feit", meaning a peddler or small trader. 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 Feit (0.44 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 Americans have the surname Feit?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.