2000
#10,458
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,819
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Feld
A German topographic surname indicating someone who lived by or worked on a field or meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,791 Americans carry the last name Feld. That puts it at #12,207 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 122,807 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feld 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 Feld with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 122,807
Census rank
#12,207
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,434 bearers of the surname Feld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12207th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feld, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feld
The surname FELD is of Germanic origin and can be traced back to medieval times. It is derived from the Old German word "feldt" or "feld," which means "field" or "open land." This name was likely given to someone who lived near or worked on a field or open area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname FELD can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the 8th to the 13th century. In this record, a person named Cuonradus de Felde is mentioned, suggesting that the name was already in use by the 12th century.
The FELD surname is also found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and valuations in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This record mentions individuals with the surname FELD living in various counties, indicating that the name had spread across different regions by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, a German knight named Ritter von Feld was recorded as taking part in the Crusades. Another notable figure was Johannes Feld, a prominent theologian and philosopher who lived in the 14th century and taught at the University of Heidelberg.
During the Renaissance period, the FELD surname was associated with several artists and scholars. One such individual was the German painter Hans Feld (c. 1480-1542), known for his religious works and portraits. Another was the Swiss mathematician and astronomer Johann Feld (1565-1631), who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
In the 18th century, Johann Michael Feld (1721-1788) was a renowned German composer and organist. His works were highly regarded and influenced the development of classical music during that era.
The FELD surname has also been found in various place names throughout Europe, such as Feldkirch in Austria and Feldberg in Germany. These place names often derived from the same root word, indicating the presence of fields or open areas in those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feld
Among Census respondents with the surname Feld, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Feld 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 Feld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,270
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 74
- Two or more races2.1% · 51
- Black or African American1.1% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feld
Feld 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
#11,402
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,766
-53 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 944 places
2020
#12,207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,434
-332 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 805 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,458 | 2,819 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,402 | 2,766 | 0.94 | -53 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 944 places |
| 2020 | #12,207 | 2,434 | 0.81 | -332 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 805 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 Feld 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 | #11,402 | #12,207 | -7.1% |
| Count | 2,766 | 2,434 | -12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.81 | -13.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feld bearers went from 2,766 to 2,434 (-12.0% change). The surname moved down 805 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,402 to #12,207.
FAQ
Feld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feld?
Name Census estimates that about 2,791 living Americans carry the surname Feld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 122,807 residents.
How common is Feld?
Feld ranks #12,207 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,434 people with the surname Feld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,791), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Feld.
Has Feld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feld went from 2,766 recorded bearers to 2,434. That is a decrease of 332 (-12.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,402 to #12,207.
What does the Census say about the background of Feld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feld, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Feld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,270 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Feld (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 Feld mean?
A German topographic surname indicating someone who lived by or worked on a field or meadow. 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 Feld (0.81 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 Feld?
Want to know how common the surname Feld is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.