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

Feldstein, 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 Feldstein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Feldstein in America

Feldstein is the 22281st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Feldstein surname appeared 1,157 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 Feldstein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Feldstein 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 Feldstein

The surname Feldstein is of German origin, deriving from the words "feld" meaning field and "stein" meaning stone. It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, as a locational surname referring to someone who lived near a prominent stone or boulder in a field.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a well-preserved medieval town in Bavaria, Germany. In 1487, a certain Hans Feldstein is mentioned as a resident and landowner.

Over the centuries, the name appears in various German-language documents and records, with slight variations in spelling such as Felldstein, Feltstain, and Feldstain. These variations were common before standardized spelling became widespread.

One notable bearer of the name was Johann Gottlieb Feldstein, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived from 1766 to 1838. He served as a judge in the court of appeals in Dresden and published several influential works on German civil law.

Another prominent individual was Max Feldstein, a German-American businessman and philanthropist born in 1884 in Frankfurt am Main. He immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century and founded a successful textile manufacturing company in New York City.

In the 19th century, the name appears in connection with the town of Feldstein, a small village in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. It is possible that some bearers of the surname may have taken their name from this place.

Moving to the 20th century, Gustav Feldstein was a German painter and printmaker active in the early decades of the 1900s. He was known for his impressionistic landscapes and cityscapes depicting scenes from Berlin and the surrounding areas.

Another notable figure was Moritz Feldstein, a German-Jewish writer and journalist who lived from 1869 to 1942. He was a prominent voice in the Jewish community in Berlin and wrote extensively on Jewish culture and identity.

While the Feldstein surname is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with German-speaking populations or influences, such as Switzerland, Austria, and parts of Eastern Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Feldstein

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

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 Feldstein 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 Feldstein 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 Feldstein was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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