2000
#10,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,741
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Greenstein
A Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish words "grin" (green) and "shtein" (stone), likely referring to a green gemstone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,894 Americans carry the last name Greenstein. That puts it at #11,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,436 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greenstein 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 Greenstein with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 118,436
Census rank
#11,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,524 bearers of the surname Greenstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greenstein
The surname "Greenstein" is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, derived from the German words "grün" meaning "green" and "stein" meaning "stone." It is believed to have originated in the 13th or 14th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a green or grassy area with rocks or stones.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Jewish community records of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where a "Leib Greenstein" is mentioned in the late 16th century. The name also appears in various other German and Polish Jewish communities throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the late 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was Hayim Samuel Jacob Greenstein (1753-1827), a renowned Talmudic scholar and author who lived in Rzeszów, Poland. Another early figure was Jehiel Greenstein (1775-1842), a prominent rabbi and author from Vilnius, Lithuania.
The name "Greenstein" can be found in various historical records, including the Pinkas (community records) of the Jewish communities in Frankfurt, Krakow, and Lviv, among others. It is also mentioned in several old manuscripts and works of literature from the 16th to 19th centuries.
In the 19th century, some notable individuals with the surname include:
- Moshe Greenstein (1819-1898), a prominent rabbi and author from Berdichev, Ukraine.
- Judah Leib Greenstein (1853-1935), a renowned Talmudic scholar and author from Vilna, Lithuania.
In the 20th century, one of the most well-known bearers of the name was Edward Greenstein (1928-2010), an American Judaic scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Biblical Hebrew and Semitic languages.
Overall, the surname "Greenstein" has a rich history rooted in the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe, where it originated as a descriptive name and was later adopted as a hereditary surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greenstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Greenstein 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 Greenstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 2,346
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 83
- Two or more races2.3% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 28
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greenstein
Greenstein 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
#11,341
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,782
+41 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 645 places
2020
#11,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,524
-258 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 515 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,696 | 2,741 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,341 | 2,782 | 0.94 | +41 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 645 places |
| 2020 | #11,856 | 2,524 | 0.84 | -258 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 515 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 Greenstein 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 | #11,341 | #11,856 | -4.5% |
| Count | 2,782 | 2,524 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.84 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greenstein bearers went from 2,782 to 2,524 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 515 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,341 to #11,856.
FAQ
Greenstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greenstein?
Name Census estimates that about 2,894 living Americans carry the surname Greenstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,436 residents.
How common is Greenstein?
Greenstein ranks #11,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,524 people with the surname Greenstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,894), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Greenstein.
Has Greenstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greenstein went from 2,782 recorded bearers to 2,524. That is a decrease of 258 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,341 to #11,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Greenstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Greenstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (2,346 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greenstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Greenstein (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 Greenstein mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish words "grin" (green) and "shtein" (stone), likely referring to a green gemstone. 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 Greenstein (0.84 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 Greenstein?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.