2000
#5,098
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,316
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.34
Rare Last name
Greenwald
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a grassy plain or clearing in the forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,857 Americans carry the last name Greenwald. That puts it at #5,610 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,986 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greenwald 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
6.9K
1 in 49,986
Census rank
#5,610
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,980 bearers of the surname Greenwald in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5610th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwald, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greenwald
The surname Greenwald is of German origin, derived from the combination of the words "grün" meaning green and "wald" meaning forest or woods. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive name, likely referring to someone who lived near a green forest or wooded area.
The earliest known recorded use of the surname Greenwald dates back to the 13th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. It was sometimes spelled as "Grünwald" or "Grünewalt" in its early forms.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records and documents in German cities such as Nuremberg and Leipzig. One notable early bearer of the name was Johannes Grünwald, a merchant and landowner born in Nuremberg in 1472.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as German migration increased, the surname Greenwald began to spread to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. In 1625, records show a Hans Grünwald settling in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York).
One of the earliest known instances of the Anglicized spelling "Greenwald" can be found in the birth records of Johann Greenwald, born in 1692 in the town of Heidelberg in the Palatinate region of Germany.
Notable bearers of the Greenwald surname throughout history include:
1. Christoph Greenwald (1628-1688), a German composer and organist known for his sacred choral works.
2. Anna Greenwald (1785-1859), a German painter and portraitist active in the early 19th century.
3. Heinrich Greenwald (1820-1892), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, Illinois.
4. Gustav Greenwald (1875-1947), an Austrian-American chemist and academic known for his research on enzymes and metabolism.
5. Robert Greenwald (born 1943), an American filmmaker and producer known for his politically-charged documentaries such as "Outfoxed" and "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greenwald
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwald, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Greenwald 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 Greenwald surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 5,547
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 179
- Two or more races2.2% · 130
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 73
- Black or African American0.7% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greenwald
Greenwald 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
#5,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,664
+348 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 2.26
Rank movement Down 136 places
2020
#5,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,980
-684 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 376 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,098 | 6,316 | 2.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,234 | 6,664 | 2.26 | +348 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 136 places |
| 2020 | #5,610 | 5,980 | 2.00 | -684 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 376 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 Greenwald 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 | #5,234 | #5,610 | -7.2% |
| Count | 6,664 | 5,980 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.26 | 2.00 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greenwald bearers went from 6,664 to 5,980 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 376 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,234 to #5,610.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Greenwald
FAQ
Greenwald surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greenwald?
Name Census estimates that about 6,857 living Americans carry the surname Greenwald. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,986 residents.
How common is Greenwald?
Greenwald ranks #5,610 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,980 people with the surname Greenwald. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,857), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Greenwald.
Has Greenwald become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greenwald went from 6,664 recorded bearers to 5,980. That is a decrease of 684 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,234 to #5,610.
What does the Census say about the background of Greenwald?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwald, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (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 Greenwald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (5,547 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greenwald appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (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 Greenwald (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 Greenwald mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a grassy plain or clearing in the forest. 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 Greenwald (2.00 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 Greenwald?
If you just want to know how common the surname Greenwald is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.