2000
#21,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,166
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.43
Rare Last name
Friedl
A surname of German origin meaning "peacemaker" or "peaceful one".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,370 Americans carry the last name Friedl. That puts it at #22,141 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 250,186 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friedl 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
1.4K
1 in 250,186
Census rank
#22,141
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,195 bearers of the surname Friedl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22141st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friedl
The surname FRIEDL is of German origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old German word "fridu," which means "peace." The name was likely initially given as a nickname to someone who was viewed as a peaceful or tranquil individual.
One of the earliest known bearers of the FRIEDL surname was Hans Friedl, a German farmer who lived in the village of Oberdorf, near Nuremberg, in the late 16th century. His name appears in parish records from 1583.
The surname FRIEDL can also be traced back to the German town of Friedland, located in what is now the modern-day state of Brandenburg. It is believed that some variations of the name, such as Friedlander or Friedländer, may have originated from families that hailed from this town.
In the 17th century, the FRIEDL surname is mentioned in several historical documents, including the records of the Holy Roman Empire. One notable individual from this period was Johann Friedl, a blacksmith from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, who was born in 1618 and died in 1692.
As the FRIEDL name spread across German-speaking regions, it also gained prominence in Austria. One of the earliest documented Austrians with this surname was Michael Friedl, a merchant from Vienna who lived from 1725 to 1798.
In the 19th century, the FRIEDL surname became more widely dispersed, with individuals bearing this name appearing in various parts of Europe and beyond. One noteworthy figure from this era was Friedrich Friedl, a German-American architect who was born in 1853 in Munich and later immigrated to the United States, where he designed several notable buildings in Chicago.
Other notable individuals with the FRIEDL surname include Hans Friedl (1892-1976), an Austrian skier and mountaineer, and Franz Friedl (1890-1976), an Austrian artist known for his landscape paintings.
Overall, the surname FRIEDL has a rich history rooted in German culture and language, with its origins dating back several centuries. While its earliest bearers were likely from rural areas, the name has since spread across various regions and has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friedl
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Friedl 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 Friedl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 1,074
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 66
- Two or more races2.8% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 11
- Black or African American0.8% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friedl
Friedl 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
#21,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,216
+50 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Down 479 places
2020
#22,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,195
-21 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 658 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,004 | 1,166 | 0.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,483 | 1,216 | 0.41 | +50 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 479 places |
| 2020 | #22,141 | 1,195 | 0.40 | -21 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 658 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 Friedl 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 | #21,483 | #22,141 | -3.1% |
| Count | 1,216 | 1,195 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.40 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friedl bearers went from 1,216 to 1,195 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 658 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,483 to #22,141.
FAQ
Friedl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friedl?
Name Census estimates that about 1,370 living Americans carry the surname Friedl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 250,186 residents.
How common is Friedl?
Friedl ranks #22,141 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,195 people with the surname Friedl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,370), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Friedl.
Has Friedl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friedl went from 1,216 recorded bearers to 1,195. That is a decrease of 21 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,483 to #22,141.
What does the Census say about the background of Friedl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Friedl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (1,074 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friedl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (5.5%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Friedl (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 Friedl mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "peacemaker" 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 Friedl (0.40 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 Americans have the surname Friedl?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.