2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fietzer
A surname of German origin, meaning a feltmaker or feltmonger.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 111 Americans carry the last name Fietzer. That puts it at #156,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,087,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fietzer 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
111
1 in 3,087,877
Census rank
#156,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
97
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 97 bearers of the surname Fietzer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fietzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fietzer
The surname Fietzer originated in Germany, likely in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Fuetzer," which referred to someone who made or repaired footwear, such as a shoemaker or cobbler. The name may have also been influenced by the German word "Fitzen," meaning to patch or mend.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fietzer can be found in the records of the town of Meiningen, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. In 1607, a Hans Fietzer is listed as a resident of the town, working as a shoemaker.
In the 18th century, the name Fietzer began to spread beyond its origins in Thuringia. Johann Fietzer, born in 1721 in the town of Erfurt, became a notable philosopher and theologian, publishing several works on ethics and moral philosophy.
During the 19th century, the Fietzer name appeared in various parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring regions such as Austria and Switzerland. In 1842, a Friedrich Fietzer was born in the town of Weimar, and later became a successful businessman and industrialist, establishing a textile manufacturing company that employed hundreds of workers.
As Germans began to emigrate to other parts of the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Fietzer name traveled with them. In 1892, a family headed by Karl Fietzer settled in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States, where they established a small shoemaking business.
Another notable bearer of the Fietzer name was Wilhelm Fietzer, born in 1879 in the town of Aachen, Germany. He was a pioneering architect who helped design several iconic buildings in Berlin and other German cities in the early 20th century, before his career was cut short by his death in World War I.
Overall, the surname Fietzer has a rich history rooted in the skilled trades of shoemaking and leatherworking, originating in the heart of Germany and spreading across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world through migration and emigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fietzer
Among Census respondents with the surname Fietzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Fietzer 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 Fietzer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 97
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fietzer
Fietzer 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
#156,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 97
-7 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 405 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,449 | 97 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 405 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 Fietzer 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 | #156,044 | #156,449 | -0.3% |
| Count | 104 | 97 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fietzer bearers went from 104 to 97 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 405 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #156,449.
FAQ
Fietzer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fietzer?
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the surname Fietzer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,087,877 residents.
How common is Fietzer?
Fietzer ranks #156,449 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 97 people with the surname Fietzer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (111), 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 Fietzer.
Has Fietzer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fietzer went from 104 recorded bearers to 97. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #156,044 to #156,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Fietzer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fietzer, 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 Fietzer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fietzer 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 Fietzer (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 Fietzer mean?
A surname of German origin, meaning a feltmaker or feltmonger. 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 Fietzer (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 have the last name Fietzer?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Fietzer at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.