2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Laizer
A surname likely of German origin signifying a person who lived near a wooden fence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Laizer. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laizer 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Laizer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laizer, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Hispanic (10.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laizer
The surname Laizer is of German origin, with its roots tracing back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the medieval German word "laizari," which referred to a person who suffered from leprosy or a skin disease. The name may have been given as a descriptive surname to someone who bore physical signs of such an ailment.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various spellings, including Laizer, Laytzer, and Leytzer, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. These variations can be found in ancient municipal records and parish registers from regions like Bavaria and Saxony.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Laizer can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the Principality of Anhalt, dated around the late 13th century. This record mentions a certain "Johannes Laizer" as a landowner in the region.
Another notable early mention of the name is in the Ältere Stadtbücher von München (Older City Books of Munich), which contains records from the 14th century. Here, a "Hans Laytzer" is listed as a resident of the city in the year 1382.
In the 16th century, a prominent individual bearing the surname Laizer was Johann Laizer (1504-1572), a German theologian and Protestant reformer from Saxony. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation.
Another notable figure was Karl Laizer (1819-1887), a German architect and urban planner who designed several prominent buildings and helped shape the architectural landscape of cities like Berlin and Dresden during the 19th century.
The name Laizer can also be found in historical records from Austria, where a certain Friedrich Laizer (1742-1812) was a renowned military officer and diplomat in the service of the Habsburg monarchy.
In the Netherlands, the surname Laizer has been traced back to the 17th century, with references to a merchant named Pieter Laizer (1625-1693) who traded in spices and textiles, contributing to the country's economic prosperity during the Dutch Golden Age.
While the surname Laizer is not as common today as some other German surnames, it has a rich historical legacy, with its roots deeply intertwined with the medieval socio-cultural landscape of Central Europe and the lives of notable individuals who bore this name throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laizer
Among Census respondents with the surname Laizer, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Hispanic (10.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Laizer 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 Laizer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.6% · 81
- Black or African American12.7% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 11
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laizer
Laizer 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,685 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,086 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 7,685 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 2,086 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 Laizer 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 | #151,532 | #149,446 | 1.4% |
| Count | 108 | 110 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laizer bearers went from 108 to 110 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 2,086 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #149,446.
FAQ
Laizer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laizer?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Laizer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Laizer?
Laizer ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Laizer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Laizer.
Has Laizer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laizer went from 108 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Laizer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laizer, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Hispanic (10.0%). 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 Laizer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (81 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laizer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.6%), Black (12.7%), Hispanic (10.0%). 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 Laizer (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 Laizer mean?
A surname likely of German origin signifying a person who lived near a wooden fence. 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 Laizer (0.04 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 Laizer?
If you just want to know how common the surname Laizer is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.