Feltes last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Feltes

German surname derived from the word "Felten" meaning matted or felted hair.

Feltes, 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 Feltes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Feltes in America

Feltes is the 29198th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Feltes surname appeared 811 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 Feltes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Feltes 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 29198 27207 7.06%
Count 811 836 -3.04%
Proportion per 100k 0.27 0.31 -13.79%

The history of the last name Feltes

The surname Feltes is of German origin, originating in the late 15th century. It is derived from the Old German word "fels," meaning "rock" or "cliff," and was likely used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a rocky or mountainous area.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Feltes can be found in historical records from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. In the 16th century, the spellings "Feltes" and "Feltis" were commonly used in these areas.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Feltes, a farmer from the village of Oberwittelsbach in Bavaria, who was recorded in a land registry document dated 1521. Another early record is of a Johann Feltes, a miner from the town of Freiberg in Saxony, who was mentioned in a mining guild ledger from 1567.

The name Feltes has also been linked to various place names in Germany, such as Felsberg (meaning "rocky mountain") and Felsten (meaning "rocky place"). These place names may have influenced the development of the surname or vice versa.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Feltes. One such person was Johann Caspar Feltes (1670-1744), a German composer and organist from Saxony, who is known for his contributions to the development of the Baroque organ repertoire.

Another prominent figure was Christian Feltes (1808-1872), a German-American engineer and inventor who played a significant role in the early development of the locomotive industry in the United States. He was born in Hesse, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in the 1830s.

In the 19th century, a man named Friedrich Feltes (1821-1899) gained recognition as a successful businessman and philanthropist in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. He founded the Feltes-Stiftung, a charitable foundation that supported educational and social causes.

A more recent historical figure with the surname Feltes was Gerhard Feltes (1919-1992), a German novelist and playwright who was known for his works exploring themes of social justice and the human condition.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning Karl Feltes (1856-1918), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City and other parts of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Feltes

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

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 Feltes was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.92% 786
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.48% 12
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 0.86% 7

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 Feltes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.92% 95.33% 1.65%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.48% 1.20% 20.90%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.44% (S)%
Hispanic 0.86% 1.20% -33.01%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Feltes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/feltes-surname-popularity/.

"Feltes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/feltes-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Feltes last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/feltes-surname-popularity/.

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