2000
#13,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,025
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Fleener
An occupational surname for someone who cards or prepares wool for spinning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,180 Americans carry the last name Fleener. That puts it at #14,939 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,227 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fleener 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
2.2K
1 in 157,227
Census rank
#14,939
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,901 bearers of the surname Fleener in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14939th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleener, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fleener
The surname Fleener is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "flener," meaning "to flay" or "to skin." It is believed to have emerged as an occupational surname for individuals who worked as tanners or leather workers during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in the southern areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Historical records from this time period, such as town registers and guild documents, mention individuals with the surname Flener or variations like Flehner and Flehener.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in a 1289 document from the city of Augsburg, which lists a "Konrad Flener" among the local tanners' guild members. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 13th century.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it underwent various spelling changes, including Flehner, Flener, and eventually Fleener. The latter spelling became more common in areas influenced by the Franconian dialect, where the shift from "eh" to "ee" was common.
In the 16th century, the Fleener surname appeared in records from the city of Nuremberg, where a notable figure named Hans Fleener (c. 1510-1585) was a respected master tanner and civic leader. His descendants continued to play prominent roles in the local tanning industry for several generations.
Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Fleener (1567-1628), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony, whose works on biblical interpretation and Christian doctrine were widely circulated in the early 17th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Fleener surname spread further across German-speaking regions, with some families settling in areas such as Silesia (now part of Poland) and the Palatinate region (now part of southwestern Germany). One prominent individual from this era was Friedrich Fleener (1688-1759), a Silesian merchant and landowner who held significant influence in the local economy.
In the 19th century, as German emigration to the United States and other parts of the world increased, the Fleener surname began to appear in records from various immigrant communities. One notable figure from this period was August Fleener (1826-1903), a German-American farmer and businessman who settled in Illinois and played an active role in the development of the local agricultural industry.
While the Fleener surname is relatively uncommon globally, it has maintained a presence in various parts of Germany and among German-American communities in the United States. The name's origins as an occupational surname for tanners and leather workers have been well-documented throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fleener
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleener, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fleener 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 Fleener surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 1,716
- Two or more races4.1% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 19
- Black or African American0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fleener
Fleener 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
#13,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,250
+225 bearers (+11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 227 places
2020
#14,939
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,901
-349 bearers (-15.5%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 1,442 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,724 | 2,025 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,497 | 2,250 | 0.76 | +225 bearers (+11.1%) | Up 227 places |
| 2020 | #14,939 | 1,901 | 0.64 | -349 bearers (-15.5%) | Down 1,442 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 Fleener 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 | #13,497 | #14,939 | -10.7% |
| Count | 2,250 | 1,901 | -15.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.64 | -16.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fleener bearers went from 2,250 to 1,901 (-15.5% change). The surname moved down 1,442 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,497 to #14,939.
FAQ
Fleener surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fleener?
Name Census estimates that about 2,180 living Americans carry the surname Fleener. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,227 residents.
How common is Fleener?
Fleener ranks #14,939 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,901 people with the surname Fleener. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,180), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Fleener.
Has Fleener become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fleener went from 2,250 recorded bearers to 1,901. That is a decrease of 349 (-15.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,497 to #14,939.
What does the Census say about the background of Fleener?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fleener, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Fleener in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (1,716 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fleener appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Fleener (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 Fleener mean?
An occupational surname for someone who cards or prepares wool for spinning. 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 Fleener (0.64 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 Fleener?
If you just want to know how many people are called Fleener, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.