2000
#4,567
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.64
Rare Last name
Freund
A German and Jewish surname meaning "friend," likely referring to a kind or helpful person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,738 Americans carry the last name Freund. That puts it at #4,526 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,226 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Freund 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Freund with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.7K
1 in 39,226
Census rank
#4,526
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,620 bearers of the surname Freund in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4526th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Freund, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Freund
The surname Freund is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "vriunt," which means friend or loved one. The name was initially used as a nickname for someone who was considered a good friend or companion.
In the early Middle Ages, surnames were not common, and people were often identified by their occupation, physical characteristics, or personal traits. As the use of surnames became more widespread, Freund emerged as a surname in various regions of modern-day Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Freund can be found in the Würzburg Codex, a 13th-century manuscript from the city of Würzburg in Bavaria. The document mentions a certain "Heinricus Vriunt" (Heinrich Freund) who was a landowner in the area.
During the 14th century, the surname Freund appeared in various official records and documents across German-speaking regions. For example, the Mettlacher Güterverzeichnis (Mettlach Property Register) from the year 1357 lists a "Conradus Frunt" (Conrad Freund) as a landowner in the town of Mettlach, which is now part of modern-day Saarland.
In the 15th century, the surname Freund was also found in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and trade. One notable example is Johann Freund (c. 1475-1554), a German humanist scholar and writer who was born in Nuremberg but spent much of his life in Italy.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Freund (1768-1827), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities in the early 19th century.
In the 19th century, the surname Freund gained prominence in various fields, including science and literature. One example is Wilhelm Freund (1806-1894), a German classical philologist and lexicographer who published several influential works on ancient Greek and Latin.
Another notable figure was Sigmund Freund (1865-1938), an Austrian physician and neurologist who was a close friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis.
In the 20th century, the surname Freund continued to be associated with notable individuals in various fields. For instance, Paul Freund (1908-1992) was a prominent American legal scholar and professor at Harvard Law School, known for his expertise in constitutional law.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Freund
Among Census respondents with the surname Freund, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Freund 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 Freund surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 7,151
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 209
- Two or more races2.0% · 154
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 63
- Black or African American0.4% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Freund
Freund 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
#4,745
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,465
+339 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 2.53
Rank movement Down 178 places
2020
#4,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,620
+155 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 2.55
Rank movement Up 219 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,567 | 7,126 | 2.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,745 | 7,465 | 2.53 | +339 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 178 places |
| 2020 | #4,526 | 7,620 | 2.55 | +155 bearers (+2.1%) | Up 219 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 Freund 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 | #4,745 | #4,526 | 4.6% |
| Count | 7,465 | 7,620 | 2.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.53 | 2.55 | 0.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Freund bearers went from 7,465 to 7,620 (+2.1% change). The surname moved up 219 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,745 to #4,526.
FAQ
Freund surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Freund?
Name Census estimates that about 8,738 living Americans carry the surname Freund. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,226 residents.
How common is Freund?
Freund ranks #4,526 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,620 people with the surname Freund. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,738), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Freund.
Has Freund become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Freund went from 7,465 recorded bearers to 7,620. That is an increase of 155 (+2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,745 to #4,526.
What does the Census say about the background of Freund?
Among Census respondents with the surname Freund, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Freund in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (7,151 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Freund appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Freund (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 Freund mean?
A German and Jewish surname meaning "friend," likely referring to a kind or helpful person. 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 Freund (2.55 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 Freund?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.