2000
#102,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Friedkin
A surname with Yiddish roots meaning "man of peace" or "peaceful one."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 158 Americans carry the last name Friedkin. That puts it at #129,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,169,331 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friedkin 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
158
1 in 2,169,331
Census rank
#129,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
138
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 138 bearers of the surname Friedkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 129045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friedkin
The surname FRIEDKIN is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, originating from the German and Yiddish languages. It is believed to have derived from the personal name "Fried" or "Friede," which means "peace" in German. The suffix "-kin" is a common diminutive ending in Yiddish, essentially meaning "son of" or "little."
The earliest recorded instances of this surname can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries in various regions of Central and Eastern Europe, including Germany, Poland, and parts of the Russian Empire. It is likely that the name emerged as a way to distinguish individuals within Jewish communities during this time period.
One notable individual with the FRIEDKIN surname was Moses Friedkin, a Polish-born Jewish scholar and author who lived from 1804 to 1892. He was a renowned authority on Jewish law and Hebrew literature and authored several influential works on these subjects.
Another historical figure bearing this name was Abraham Friedkin, a Russian-born Jewish businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1857 to 1919. He made significant contributions to various charitable organizations and educational institutions in Russia and later in the United States after immigrating there.
In the realm of arts and entertainment, William Friedkin is a well-known American film director, producer, and screenwriter, born in 1935. He is best known for directing the critically acclaimed films "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist," both of which received numerous awards and accolades.
Moving to the world of politics, Naum Friedkin was a Russian-born Jewish politician and lawyer who lived from 1868 to 1936. He served as a member of the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) and was a prominent figure in the Constitutional Democratic Party in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Lastly, in the field of medicine, Samuel Friedkin was an American physician and medical researcher who lived from 1916 to 2006. He made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of leprosy and was involved in the development of several drugs used to combat the disease.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the surname FRIEDKIN, showcasing its diverse origins and the various fields in which bearers of this name have made their mark.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friedkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Friedkin 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 Friedkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 126
- Black or African American3.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 3
- Two or more races2.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friedkin
Friedkin 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
#114,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153
-9 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 11,733 places
2020
#129,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
-15 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 14,621 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #102,691 | 162 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #114,424 | 153 | 0.05 | -9 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 11,733 places |
| 2020 | #129,045 | 138 | 0.05 | -15 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 14,621 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 Friedkin 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 | #114,424 | #129,045 | -12.8% |
| Count | 153 | 138 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friedkin bearers went from 153 to 138 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 14,621 positions in the national ranking, going from #114,424 to #129,045.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Friedkin
FAQ
Friedkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friedkin?
Name Census estimates that about 158 living Americans carry the surname Friedkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,169,331 residents.
How common is Friedkin?
Friedkin ranks #129,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 138 people with the surname Friedkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (158), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Friedkin.
Has Friedkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friedkin went from 153 recorded bearers to 138. That is a decrease of 15 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #114,424 to #129,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Friedkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Friedkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (126 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friedkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Black (3.6%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Friedkin (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 Friedkin mean?
A surname with Yiddish roots meaning "man of peace" or "peaceful one." 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 Friedkin (0.05 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 share the surname Friedkin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.