Find out how popular the last name Fleisher is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Fleisher.

Fleisher, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Fleisher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fleisher in America

Fleisher is the 14495th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fleisher surname appeared 2,058 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Fleisher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fleisher to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Fleisher

The surname Fleisher has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word 'fleisch', meaning flesh or meat. This suggests that the name likely originated from someone who worked as a butcher or in a related trade involving the preparation or selling of meat.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fleisher can be found in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, in the 14th century. A document from 1382 mentions a merchant named Hans Fleisher, who dealt in the trade of meat and other foodstuffs.

In the 15th century, the name appears in various records from the region of Bavaria, indicating that families with the surname Fleisher had established themselves in this part of Germany. One notable example is Johann Fleisher, a baker from Munich, who was documented in a guild record from 1462.

As the surname spread across Germany, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Fleischer, Fleischhauer, and Fleischmann. These variations reflect the regional dialects and the evolution of the German language over time.

One of the earliest known instances of the Fleisher surname outside of Germany can be found in the Netherlands. In the 16th century, a merchant named Pieter Fleisher from Amsterdam is mentioned in trade records from the city's archives, dated 1583.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the surname Fleisher. One such example is Jacob Fleisher (1701-1782), a German-born clockmaker who immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the mid-18th century and became renowned for his intricate timepieces.

Another noteworthy figure was Samuel Fleisher (1858-1905), an American philanthropist from Philadelphia who established the Fleisher Art Memorial, one of the nation's first tuition-free art schools, in memory of his parents.

In the field of literature, Charles Fleisher (1875-1946) was an American author and journalist who wrote several notable novels and short stories in the early 20th century.

The name Fleisher also gained prominence in the world of music with the American pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher (1928-2020), who was renowned for his interpretations of works by composers such as Beethoven and Brahms.

Finally, one cannot overlook the contributions of Dr. Robert Fleisher (1923-2008), a pioneering cardiologist who developed groundbreaking techniques for diagnosing and treating heart diseases, including the Fleisher criteria for assessing cardiac risk.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fleisher

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Fleisher.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Fleisher was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Fleisher has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Fleisher was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fleisher, please contact us.

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