2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Felsheim
A locative surname referring to someone from a location called Felsheim.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Felsheim. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Felsheim 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Felsheim in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Felsheim, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Felsheim
The surname Felsheim is of German origin, dating back to the medieval era. It is derived from the German words "Fels," meaning rock or cliff, and "heim," meaning home or settlement. This suggests that the name originated from a place name referring to a rocky or mountainous area where the earliest bearers of the name lived.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Felsheim can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Middle Ages. In this source, a certain "Henricus de Felsheim" is mentioned in a document dated 1274, indicating that the name was already in use by that time.
In the 14th century, the Felsheim name appears in the records of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, a prominent city in the Holy Roman Empire. A merchant named Johann Felsheim is recorded as having lived in Nuremberg during this period, suggesting that the family may have been involved in trade or commerce.
During the Renaissance, a notable figure bearing the Felsheim name was Hans Felsheim, a German painter active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is known for his religious artworks, including altarpieces and frescoes, which can still be found in churches across southern Germany.
In the 17th century, the Felsheim name is associated with the town of Felsheim, located in the present-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is likely that this place name is related to the origin of the surname, and the town may have been the ancestral home of some Felsheim families.
Another noteworthy individual with the Felsheim surname was Johann Georg Felsheim, a German theologian and writer who lived from 1676 to 1748. He was a renowned scholar and authored several works on religious topics, including a commentary on the Book of Revelation.
Moving into the 18th century, the Felsheim name appears in the records of the University of Heidelberg, where a professor named Friedrich Felsheim taught philosophy and mathematics from 1732 to 1768. This illustrates the family's involvement in academia and intellectual pursuits during this era.
Overall, the surname Felsheim has a rich history rooted in medieval Germany, with connections to various regions, professions, and notable individuals throughout the centuries. Its origins can be traced back to a place name related to rocky or mountainous terrain, reflecting the diverse landscapes of the German lands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Felsheim
Among Census respondents with the surname Felsheim, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Felsheim 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 Felsheim surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 5
- Two or more races5.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Felsheim
Felsheim appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-9 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,641 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 3,641 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 Felsheim 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 | #152,628 | #156,269 | -2.4% |
| Count | 107 | 98 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Felsheim bearers went from 107 to 98 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 3,641 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #156,269.
FAQ
Felsheim surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Felsheim?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Felsheim. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Felsheim?
Felsheim ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 98 people with the surname Felsheim. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Felsheim.
Has Felsheim become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Felsheim went from 107 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #152,628 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Felsheim?
Among Census respondents with the surname Felsheim, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Felsheim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Felsheim appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Felsheim (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 Felsheim mean?
A locative surname referring to someone from a location called Felsheim. 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 Felsheim (0.03 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 are called Felsheim?
Want to know how common the surname Felsheim is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.