2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Firnstahl
A German surname derived from the words "Firn" (eternal snow or ice) and "Stahl" (steel), possibly referring to a person's origin or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Firnstahl. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Firnstahl 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Firnstahl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Firnstahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Firnstahl
The surname FIRNSTAHL is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely in the late Middle Ages or early modern period. It is a compound word derived from the German words "firn" meaning "eternal snow" and "stahl" meaning "steel," suggesting a connection to mountainous regions or areas with harsh winter conditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 16th-century tax records of the town of Schmalkalden in the German state of Thuringia. There, a blacksmith named Hans Firnstahl was listed as a resident in the year 1573.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and municipal documents across German-speaking regions, indicating its spread and establishment as a hereditary surname. Notable bearers from this era include Johann Firnstahl (1592-1649), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony.
As the centuries progressed, the Firnstahl name continued to be associated with regions of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In the 19th century, a Prussian military officer named Friedrich Firnstahl (1809-1876) gained recognition for his service during the Revolutions of 1848 and the Austro-Prussian War.
Another notable figure was the Swiss mountaineer and explorer Jakob Firnstahl (1848-1916), who was among the first to summit several peaks in the Swiss Alps, including the Matterhorn and the Dufourspitze.
In the early 20th century, the German-born physicist and Nobel laureate Max Firnstahl (1878-1967) made significant contributions to the field of quantum mechanics and the development of the Schrödinger equation.
While the name FIRNSTAHL is relatively uncommon, it has persisted throughout the centuries, with bearers scattered across various German-speaking regions and beyond, carrying on the legacy of this distinctive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Firnstahl
Among Census respondents with the surname Firnstahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Firnstahl 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 Firnstahl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 101
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Firnstahl
Firnstahl 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+4 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,083 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-18 bearers (-14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,540 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 5,083 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-14.6%) | Down 16,540 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 Firnstahl 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 | #136,449 | #152,989 | -12.1% |
| Count | 123 | 105 | -14.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Firnstahl bearers went from 123 to 105 (-14.6% change). The surname moved down 16,540 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #152,989.
FAQ
Firnstahl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Firnstahl?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Firnstahl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Firnstahl?
Firnstahl ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Firnstahl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Firnstahl.
Has Firnstahl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Firnstahl went from 123 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 18 (-14.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Firnstahl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Firnstahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Firnstahl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Firnstahl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Black (1.0%). 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 Firnstahl (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 Firnstahl mean?
A German surname derived from the words "Firn" (eternal snow or ice) and "Stahl" (steel), possibly referring to a person's origin or occupation. 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 Firnstahl (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 Firnstahl?
Find out how many people have the surname Firnstahl on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.