2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Flentje
A German surname derived from a nickname meaning "rag" or "tatter".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Flentje. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flentje 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Flentje in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flentje, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flentje
The surname Flentje is of German origin, deriving from the Low German word "flint" which means "flint stone." It is believed to have originated as an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked as a flint mason or in the production of flint tools during the Middle Ages.
The name can be traced back to various regions of northern Germany, particularly in areas where Low German dialects were spoken, such as Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and Mecklenburg. Early records show variations in spelling, including Flintje, Flentge, and Flindtjes.
One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 14th century. The name is mentioned in an entry from 1376, referring to a certain "Hinricus Flentje."
In the 15th century, the Flentje name appeared in various municipal records and chronicles across northern Germany. Notable individuals from this period include Hans Flentje, a merchant from Lübeck who lived around 1450, and Claus Flentje, a master carpenter from Hamburg, who was mentioned in guild records from 1487.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Flentje family spread across different regions of Germany, with some members settling in the Netherlands and Denmark. One prominent figure from this time was Johann Flentje (1564-1638), a Lutheran theologian and author from Braunschweig.
In the 18th century, the Flentje name was associated with the town of Steinfurt in Westphalia, where several members of the family were involved in local politics and trade. Johann Heinrich Flentje (1720-1788) served as the mayor of Steinfurt.
The 19th century saw the Flentje name gain further recognition, particularly in the fields of academia and literature. Carl Flentje (1809-1877) was a German philologist and professor at the University of Göttingen, while Wilhelm Flentje (1838-1910) was a renowned writer and poet from Lübeck.
Other notable individuals with the Flentje surname include Friedrich Flentje (1855-1919), a German architect and urban planner who designed several buildings in Berlin, and Otto Flentje (1877-1942), a German military officer who served in World War I.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flentje
Among Census respondents with the surname Flentje, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Flentje 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 Flentje surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.7% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flentje
Flentje 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
+10 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 334 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,860 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 334 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 4,860 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 Flentje 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 | #141,309 | -3.6% |
| Count | 123 | 121 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flentje bearers went from 123 to 121 (-1.6% change). The surname moved down 4,860 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #141,309.
FAQ
Flentje surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flentje?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Flentje. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Flentje?
Flentje ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Flentje. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Flentje.
Has Flentje become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flentje went from 123 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Flentje?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flentje, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Flentje in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flentje appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.7%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Flentje (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 Flentje mean?
A German surname derived from a nickname meaning "rag" or "tatter". 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 Flentje (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 many people have the surname Flentje?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.