2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Geistfeld
A locational surname referring to someone living near a meadow or field of ghosts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 167 Americans carry the last name Geistfeld. That puts it at #123,817 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,052,421 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Geistfeld 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
167
1 in 2,052,421
Census rank
#123,817
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
146
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 146 bearers of the surname Geistfeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 123817th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Geistfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Geistfeld
The surname Geistfeld is of German origin, emerging in the late medieval period around the 14th century. It is derived from the Old German words "geist" meaning "spirit" or "ghost," and "feld" meaning "field." This combination suggests the name may have referred to a haunted or spiritual field, possibly connected to early Germanic pagan beliefs.
One of the earliest known references to the Geistfeld name can be found in a 1387 manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, which mentions a "Hans Geistfeld" as a local landowner. This indicates the name was already established in southern Germany by that time.
In the 15th century, a branch of the Geistfeld family settled in the Rhineland region, where the name is recorded in various municipal records and church registries from cities like Cologne and Aachen. Notable individuals from this era include Johann Geistfeld (c. 1425-1489), a well-respected scribe and calligrapher from Aachen.
As the Geistfeld name spread across German-speaking lands, it also developed alternative spellings such as Geistfeldt, Geystfeldt, and Geissfeldt. The earliest known immigration of a Geistfeld to the American colonies occurred in 1732, when Peter Geistfeld arrived in Pennsylvania from the Palatinate region of Germany.
In the 19th century, a prominent member of the Geistfeld family was Karl Geistfeld (1813-1887), a Prussian military officer and writer who served in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Another notable figure was Elise Geistfeld (1856-1923), a German painter and illustrator renowned for her portraits and landscapes.
Other historical individuals with the Geistfeld surname include Hans Geistfeld (1879-1942), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and Munich, and Wilhelm Geistfeld (1901-1976), a German-American chemist who made significant contributions to the development of synthetic rubber during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Geistfeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Geistfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Geistfeld 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 Geistfeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.3% · 145
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Geistfeld
Geistfeld 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+11 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 756 places
2020
#123,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 146
+16 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 6,793 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 756 places |
| 2020 | #123,817 | 146 | 0.05 | +16 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 6,793 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 Geistfeld 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 | #130,610 | #123,817 | 5.2% |
| Count | 130 | 146 | 12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 22.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Geistfeld bearers went from 130 to 146 (+12.3% change). The surname moved up 6,793 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #123,817.
FAQ
Geistfeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Geistfeld?
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the surname Geistfeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,052,421 residents.
How common is Geistfeld?
Geistfeld ranks #123,817 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 146 people with the surname Geistfeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (167), 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 Geistfeld.
Has Geistfeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Geistfeld went from 130 recorded bearers to 146. That is an increase of 16 (+12.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #130,610 to #123,817.
What does the Census say about the background of Geistfeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Geistfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Geistfeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.3% (145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Geistfeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.3%), Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Geistfeld (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 Geistfeld mean?
A locational surname referring to someone living near a meadow or field of ghosts. 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 Geistfeld (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 are called Geistfeld?
Find out how many people have the surname Geistfeld on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.