Flener last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Flener

A surname derived from the Old Norse word "flener" meaning to flay or skin animals.

Flener, 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 Flener surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Flener in America

Flener is the 26492nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Flener surname appeared 921 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Flener.

We can also compare 2010 data for Flener 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 26492 25633 3.30%
Count 921 904 1.86%
Proportion per 100k 0.31 0.34 -9.23%

The history of the last name Flener

The surname Flener is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "flen," which means "to flay" or "to skin." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with the occupation of a skinner or leatherworker.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Flener can be found in the town of Nördlingen, located in the German state of Bavaria. In a document dated 1587, a man named Hans Flener is listed as a resident of the town, and his occupation is noted as a skinner.

As the name spread throughout Germany, it underwent various spelling variations, including Flenner, Flehner, and Flehner. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistent spelling practices of the time.

In the 17th century, the name appears in several historical records, such as the parish registers of the city of Nuremberg. One notable individual from this period is Johann Flener, a merchant who was born in Nuremberg in 1632 and died in 1698.

By the 18th century, the Flener surname had spread beyond Germany, with some individuals migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. In 1756, a man named Heinrich Flener was recorded as a resident of the German settlement of Germantown, in the colony of Pennsylvania.

Another prominent figure bearing the Flener surname was Friedrich Flener, a German philosopher and author born in 1768 in the city of Cologne. His works, which explored topics in ethics and moral philosophy, were widely read and influential during his time.

As the 19th century dawned, the Flener name continued to be found across various regions of Germany, as well as in other European countries and the United States. One notable individual from this period was Carl Flener, a German engineer and industrialist born in 1819 in the city of Lübeck. He played a significant role in the development of modern machinery for the textile industry.

Other historical figures with the Flener surname include Johann Flener, a German painter and artist who lived in the late 19th century, and Wilhelm Flener, a German composer and musician born in 1875 in the city of Berlin.

While the Flener surname may have originated from a specific occupation, it has since evolved and been carried by individuals from various walks of life, contributing to the rich tapestry of human history and cultural diversity.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Flener

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

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 Flener was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.63% 890
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.39% 22

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 Flener has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.63% 96.46% 0.18%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.88% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.39% 1.88% 23.89%

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 Flener was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Flener last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 25, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/flener-surname-popularity/.

"Flener last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/flener-surname-popularity/. Accessed 25 November, 2024

Flener last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/flener-surname-popularity/.

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