2000
#61,855
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 303
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Fierstein
A German surname derived from the words "feier" (celebration) and "stein" (stone), possibly referring to those who lived near a stone used for festivities.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 274 Americans carry the last name Fierstein. That puts it at #84,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,250,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fierstein 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
274
1 in 1,250,928
Census rank
#84,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
239
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 239 bearers of the surname Fierstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 84529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fierstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fierstein
The surname Fierstein is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, originating from the Germanic regions of Europe during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Yiddish word "feyer," meaning "fire," which may have originally referred to a person who worked with fire, such as a blacksmith or a baker.
The earliest recorded instances of the Fierstein name can be traced back to the 16th century in various German and Polish records. One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Mordechai Fierstein, a Jewish scholar who lived in the city of Kraków, Poland, in the late 16th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Fierstein name appeared in various Jewish communities across Europe, particularly in German-speaking regions and Poland. Notable individuals with this surname include Rabbi Yitzchak Fierstein (1695-1768), a renowned Talmudic scholar from Frankfurt, Germany, and Leib Fierstein (1720-1795), a prominent merchant and community leader in Vilnius, Lithuania.
As Jewish communities faced persecution and expulsion from various European regions, many Fiersteins migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the United States and other countries. One of the earliest recorded Fiersteins in America was Solomon Fierstein, who arrived in New York City from Germany in the late 18th century.
In the 19th century, the Fierstein name gained prominence in the United States, with several notable individuals bearing this surname. These include Isaac Fierstein (1812-1889), a successful businessman and philanthropist in Philadelphia, and Sarah Fierstein (1835-1912), a writer and social activist who advocated for women's rights and education.
Other notable Fiersteins throughout history include playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein (born 1954), whose works like "Torch Song Trilogy" and "Hairspray" have earned him numerous accolades, including Tony Awards. Additionally, there was Jacob Fierstein (1874-1954), a Russian-born American journalist and author who wrote extensively about Jewish culture and history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fierstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Fierstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Fierstein 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 Fierstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 230
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 6
- Two or more races0.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fierstein
Fierstein 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
#68,345
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 288
-15 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 6,490 places
2020
#84,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 239
-49 bearers (-17.0%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 16,184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #61,855 | 303 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #68,345 | 288 | 0.10 | -15 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 6,490 places |
| 2020 | #84,529 | 239 | 0.08 | -49 bearers (-17.0%) | Down 16,184 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 Fierstein 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 | #68,345 | #84,529 | -23.7% |
| Count | 288 | 239 | -17.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.08 | -20.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fierstein bearers went from 288 to 239 (-17.0% change). The surname moved down 16,184 positions in the national ranking, going from #68,345 to #84,529.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fierstein
FAQ
Fierstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fierstein?
Name Census estimates that about 274 living Americans carry the surname Fierstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,250,928 residents.
How common is Fierstein?
Fierstein ranks #84,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 239 people with the surname Fierstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (274), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Fierstein.
Has Fierstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fierstein went from 288 recorded bearers to 239. That is a decrease of 49 (-17.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #68,345 to #84,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Fierstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fierstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Fierstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (230 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fierstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Fierstein (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 Fierstein mean?
A German surname derived from the words "feier" (celebration) and "stein" (stone), possibly referring to those who lived near a stone used for festivities. 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 Fierstein (0.08 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 Fierstein?
Want to know how many people have the surname Fierstein? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.