2000
#6,420
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,883
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.81
Rare Last name
Lampe
A surname derived from the Old French word "lampe," referring to a lamp or torch maker or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,309 Americans carry the last name Lampe. That puts it at #6,995 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,561 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lampe 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
5.3K
1 in 64,561
Census rank
#6,995
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,630 bearers of the surname Lampe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6995th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lampe, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lampe
The surname Lampe is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "lampe," meaning "lamp" or "light." It first appeared in the 12th century as an occupational name for a lamp maker or someone who worked with lamps.
The name was initially recorded in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas of Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. Early spellings of the name included Lampen, Lamper, and Lamprecht.
One of the earliest known records of the name Lampe can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a person named Conradus Lampe is mentioned in a document dated 1284.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Bürgermatrikel (citizen registers) of several German cities, such as Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main. For instance, a certain Hans Lampe is recorded as a citizen of Nuremberg in 1376.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the surname Lampe. One of the earliest was Johann Friedrich Lampe (1692-1774), a German musician and composer who worked in England during the Baroque period.
Another prominent figure was Johann Heinrich Lampe (1703-1751), a German-born Dutch painter known for his landscape and cityscape paintings. He was born in Nuremberg and later settled in Amsterdam.
In the 19th century, Walter Lampe (1852-1918) was a German jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Württemberg.
In the field of literature, Friedrich Adolf Lampe (1683-1729) was a German poet and playwright from Saxony, known for his satirical works.
More recently, Hans-Joachim Lampe (1925-2011) was a German actor and theater director who had a successful career in both film and theater productions.
While the surname Lampe is primarily associated with German-speaking regions, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and population movements over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lampe
Among Census respondents with the surname Lampe, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lampe 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 Lampe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 4,221
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 164
- Two or more races2.5% · 116
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 43
- Black or African American0.6% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lampe
Lampe 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
#6,423
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,290
+407 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Down 3 places
2020
#6,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,630
-660 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Down 572 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,420 | 4,883 | 1.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,423 | 5,290 | 1.79 | +407 bearers (+8.3%) | Down 3 places |
| 2020 | #6,995 | 4,630 | 1.55 | -660 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 572 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 Lampe 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 | #6,423 | #6,995 | -8.9% |
| Count | 5,290 | 4,630 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.55 | -13.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lampe bearers went from 5,290 to 4,630 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 572 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,423 to #6,995.
FAQ
Lampe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lampe?
Name Census estimates that about 5,309 living Americans carry the surname Lampe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,561 residents.
How common is Lampe?
Lampe ranks #6,995 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 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 4,630 people with the surname Lampe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,309), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 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 Lampe.
Has Lampe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lampe went from 5,290 recorded bearers to 4,630. That is a decrease of 660 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,423 to #6,995.
What does the Census say about the background of Lampe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lampe, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Lampe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (4,221 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lampe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Lampe (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 Lampe mean?
A surname derived from the Old French word "lampe," referring to a lamp or torch maker or seller. 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 Lampe (1.55 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 common is the surname Lampe?
You can see how many people are called Lampe on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.