2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Frauenhofer
A German surname referring to someone who lived near a tavern or female inn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Frauenhofer. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frauenhofer 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Frauenhofer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frauenhofer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frauenhofer
The surname Frauenhofer originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German words "Frau" meaning "woman" and "Hof" meaning "courtyard" or "farm". This suggests the name may have originally referred to a woman who owned or managed a farm or courtyard.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 1562 tax record from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, which lists a "Hans Frauenhofer" as a resident. Similar spellings such as "Frauenhoffer" and "Frawnhofer" can be found in various German records from the 16th and 17th centuries.
The name Frauenhofer is also connected to the German village of Frauenhofen, located in the state of Bavaria. It is possible that some early bearers of the name may have originated from or lived in this village, contributing to the surname's development.
One notable individual with the surname Frauenhofer was Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826), a German optician and physicist known for his contributions to the study of light and the discovery of the dark absorption lines in the sun's spectrum, now known as Fraunhofer lines.
Another historical figure was Georg Fraunhofer (1539-1611), a German mathematician and astronomer who contributed to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 19th century, Johann Frauenhofer (1808-1875) was a German industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Frauenhofer Society, a prestigious organization dedicated to applied research and technology transfer.
The Frauenhofer family also produced notable artists, such as the German painter and engraver Johann Frauenhofer (1809-1878), known for his landscapes and architectural works.
Throughout the centuries, variations of the name have been documented, including Fraunhofer, Frauenhoffer, and Frawnhofer, reflecting the evolution of spelling and regional dialects in Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frauenhofer
Among Census respondents with the surname Frauenhofer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Frauenhofer 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 Frauenhofer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frauenhofer
Frauenhofer appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+4 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,225 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.6%) | Up 2,225 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 Frauenhofer 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 | #147,253 | #145,028 | 1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 116 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frauenhofer bearers went from 112 to 116 (+3.6% change). The surname moved up 2,225 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #145,028.
FAQ
Frauenhofer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frauenhofer?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Frauenhofer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Frauenhofer?
Frauenhofer ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Frauenhofer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Frauenhofer.
Has Frauenhofer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frauenhofer went from 112 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 4 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Frauenhofer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frauenhofer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Frauenhofer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frauenhofer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Frauenhofer (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 Frauenhofer mean?
A German surname referring to someone who lived near a tavern or female inn. 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 Frauenhofer (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 are called Frauenhofer?
Want to know how common the surname Frauenhofer is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.