2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Feltmeyer
A surname derived from the German words "Feld" meaning field and "Meier" meaning farm manager or overseer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Feltmeyer. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feltmeyer 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Feltmeyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feltmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feltmeyer
The surname FELTMEYER has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the German words "Feld" meaning "field" and "Meier" meaning "steward" or "overseer." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who oversaw or worked on a field or farmland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the former Margraviate of Brandenburg. In this document, dated 1375, a man named Hans Feltmeyer is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Schöneberg, which is now part of Berlin.
Another notable early reference to the name is in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Wittenberg, where a Johannes Feltmeyer is recorded as having been born in 1497. Wittenberg is significant as it was the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various historical records across Germany, particularly in the regions of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. One notable individual from this time was Hans Feltmeyer, a merchant and landowner born in 1532 in the town of Zwickau, Saxony.
The 17th century saw the spread of the name to other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and trade. In 1643, a man named Johann Feltmeyer is recorded as having been granted citizenship in the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name in the United States was Johann Georg Feltmeyer, who immigrated from Hesse, Germany, to Pennsylvania in 1749. He settled in the area now known as Berks County and is considered one of the founders of the Feltmeyer family in America.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname FELTMEYER, including:
1. Wilhelm Feltmeyer (1818-1895), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives.
2. Karl Feltmeyer (1856-1918), a German architect and urban planner who designed several buildings in Berlin and other cities.
3. Otto Feltmeyer (1889-1967), a German-American artist known for his landscapes and portraits, particularly those depicting Native American subjects.
4. Gerhard Feltmeyer (1902-1981), a German theologian and philosopher who taught at several universities in Germany and Switzerland.
5. Hans-Joachim Feltmeyer (born 1947), a German businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Feltmeyer Group, a successful construction and real estate company.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feltmeyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Feltmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Feltmeyer 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 Feltmeyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 113
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feltmeyer
Feltmeyer 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,579 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,174 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 11,579 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 2,174 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 Feltmeyer 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 | #149,395 | #147,221 | 1.5% |
| Count | 110 | 113 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feltmeyer bearers went from 110 to 113 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 2,174 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #147,221.
FAQ
Feltmeyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feltmeyer?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Feltmeyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Feltmeyer?
Feltmeyer ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 113 people with the surname Feltmeyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Feltmeyer.
Has Feltmeyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feltmeyer went from 110 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 3 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Feltmeyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feltmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Feltmeyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feltmeyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Feltmeyer (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 Feltmeyer mean?
A surname derived from the German words "Feld" meaning field and "Meier" meaning farm manager or overseer. 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 Feltmeyer (0.04 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 have the last name Feltmeyer?
If you just want to know how common the surname Feltmeyer is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.