2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Friedges
A surname derived from a Germanic word referring to a peaceful or secure place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Friedges. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friedges 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Friedges in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedges, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friedges
The surname FRIEDGES has its origins in Germany, emerging during the Middle Ages, around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "fried," meaning peace or tranquility, combined with the suffix "-ges," indicating a place of origin or residence.
This surname is thought to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was first documented in medieval records. The earliest known reference to the name dates back to a 1287 land registry in the town of Nuremberg, listing a certain Heinricus Friedges as a landowner.
In the 14th century, the name appears in several ecclesiastical documents from the Diocese of Bamberg, suggesting some bearers of the name may have been part of the clergy or monastic orders during that period. One notable entry is a Brother Johannes Friedges, who served as a scribe in the Benedictine monastery of Michelsberg in 1372.
The FRIEDGES surname is also found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 15th century. A merchant named Hans Friedges is mentioned in a trade record from 1486, indicating the name's presence in the mercantile class of the time.
As the name spread across Germany, variations in spelling emerged, such as Friedges, Friedgens, and Friedgess. In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Caspar Friedges (1515-1584), a renowned scholar and humanist from Nuremberg, who published several works on classical literature and philosophy.
Another historical figure of note was Johann Friedges (1567-1638), a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Saxony, who authored several influential treatises on Protestant doctrine during the Reformation era.
Other bearers of the FRIEDGES surname include:
1. Matthias Friedges (1648-1712), a German architect and builder responsible for the construction of several churches and civic buildings in Saxony.
2. Anna Maria Friedges (1703-1778), a German painter and miniaturist known for her portraits of the nobility and royal families of Europe.
3. Friedrich Friedges (1795-1871), a Prussian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a respected military strategist and writer.
4. Wilhelm Friedges (1832-1901), a German composer and conductor who worked extensively in the opera houses of Berlin and Dresden.
5. Elsa Friedges (1876-1942), a German women's rights activist and one of the early advocates for female suffrage in Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friedges
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedges, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Friedges 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 Friedges surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friedges
Friedges 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
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-5 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 965 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.9%) | Up 965 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 Friedges 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 | #157,234 | #156,269 | 0.6% |
| Count | 103 | 98 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friedges bearers went from 103 to 98 (-4.9% change). The surname moved up 965 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #156,269.
FAQ
Friedges surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friedges?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Friedges. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Friedges?
Friedges ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 98 people with the surname Friedges. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Friedges.
Has Friedges become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friedges went from 103 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Friedges?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedges, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Friedges in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friedges appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Friedges (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 Friedges mean?
A surname derived from a Germanic word referring to a peaceful or secure place. 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 Friedges (0.03 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 last name Friedges?
Want to know how many people have the last name Friedges? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.