2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Finkelson
A surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, meaning "son of Finkel" or "son of the little blond one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Finkelson. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Finkelson 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Finkelson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Finkelson, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Finkelson
The surname Finkelson is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin and is believed to have originated in the Germanic regions of Europe, particularly in Germany and parts of modern-day Poland. The name is derived from the Yiddish word "finkl," which means "spark" or "little fire." This likely referred to an ancestor's occupation, perhaps as a blacksmith or someone who worked with fire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Finkelson can be found in a 16th-century document from the city of Krakow, Poland. The document mentions a merchant named Shlomo Finkelson, who was engaged in trade between Krakow and other cities in the region.
In the 17th century, a prominent rabbi named Yitzchak Finkelson lived in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. He was known for his expertise in Jewish law and wrote several influential works on the subject.
During the 18th century, the Finkelson family had established a presence in the town of Bialystok, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Records from that time mention a family of traders and money lenders with the surname Finkelson.
One notable figure from the 19th century was Abraham Finkelson, a successful businessman and philanthropist from Warsaw, Poland. He was born in 1820 and is credited with establishing several charitable organizations that supported education and social welfare initiatives for the Jewish community.
In the early 20th century, a writer and journalist named Leib Finkelson gained recognition for his works that documented the lives of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. He was born in 1865 in the town of Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania) and published several books and articles that shed light on the cultural and historical aspects of Jewish life in the region.
While the surname Finkelson is not as common today as it once was, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and can be traced back to its origins in the Germanic lands of Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Finkelson
Among Census respondents with the surname Finkelson, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Finkelson 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 Finkelson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Finkelson
Finkelson 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-10 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,758 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-9 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,316 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 15,758 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 10,316 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 Finkelson 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 | #134,712 | #145,028 | -7.7% |
| Count | 125 | 116 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Finkelson bearers went from 125 to 116 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 10,316 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #145,028.
FAQ
Finkelson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Finkelson?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Finkelson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Finkelson?
Finkelson ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Finkelson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Finkelson.
Has Finkelson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Finkelson went from 125 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Finkelson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Finkelson, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Finkelson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Finkelson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Finkelson (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 Finkelson mean?
A surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, meaning "son of Finkel" or "son of the little blond one." 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 Finkelson (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 common is the surname Finkelson?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Finkelson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.