Find out how popular the last name Landau is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Landau.

Landau, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Landau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Landau in America

Landau is the 6137th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Landau surname appeared 5,582 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Landau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Landau to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Landau

The surname Landau originated in Germany, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German words "land" meaning "country" and "au" meaning "meadow" or "water meadow," suggesting a connection to rural or agricultural areas.

One of the earliest known references to the name Landau can be found in the town of Landau in der Pfalz, situated in the modern-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. This town was first mentioned in historical records as early as the 9th century, and it is likely that the surname Landau emerged from this region.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Landau appeared in various legal documents and records across different regions of Germany. Notably, a certain Heinrich Landau was mentioned in a document from the city of Nuremberg in 1304, indicating the spread of this surname beyond its origins.

In the 16th century, the Landau family gained prominence through the figure of Johann Landau (1490-1542), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and contributed to the translation of the Bible into German.

Another notable individual with the surname Landau was Georg Landau (1807-1879), a German-born American lawyer and politician who served as the 20th Mayor of Baltimore from 1860 to 1863. He was also a prominent figure in the Union movement during the American Civil War.

In the 19th century, the name Landau was associated with the Landau carriage, a type of four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle that originated in the town of Landau in der Pfalz. This connection further highlights the geographical origins of the surname.

Other noteworthy individuals with the surname Landau include Walter Landau (1909-1988), an American film producer and director, and Lev Landau (1908-1968), a Soviet physicist who made significant contributions to the field of theoretical physics and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1962.

While the surname Landau has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and other countries, due to emigration and migration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Landau

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Landau.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Landau was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Landau has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Landau was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Landau, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!