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

Landis, 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 Landis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Landis in America

Landis is the 1912th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Landis surname appeared 18,826 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Landis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Landis 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 Landis

The surname Landis has its roots in the German language and is believed to have originated in the central European region during the Middle Ages. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "lant," meaning "land" or "country," likely referring to someone who owned or worked on a piece of land.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Landis can be found in the Codex Laureshamensis, a medieval manuscript from the Lorsch Abbey in Germany, dating back to the 8th century. This document mentions a landowner named Lando, which may have been an early form of the surname.

In the 12th century, the name Landis appeared in various forms, such as Landiz and Landicz, in several historical records from the Holy Roman Empire, including the Annals of Fulda and the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Landis began to spread across different regions of Europe, with variations in spelling and pronunciation. In the Duchy of Bavaria, for instance, there are records of individuals bearing the name Landis or Landitz, while in the Swiss Cantons, the name was often spelled as Landis or Landiss.

One notable figure from this period was Johannes Landis, a German scholar and theologian born in 1490 in Wittenberg. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 16th century, the surname Landis gained prominence in the Palatinate region of Germany, where it was often associated with landowners and farmers. One prominent individual from this time was Hans Landis, a wealthy landowner and political figure who served as a councilor in the city of Heidelberg in the late 1500s.

As the Landis family spread across Europe, the name also took on various forms in different languages. In the Netherlands, for example, it was sometimes written as Landijs, while in France, it appeared as Landy or Landry.

Another notable figure with the surname Landis was Johann Landis, a Swiss mathematician and astronomer born in 1718 in Bern. He made significant contributions to the study of comets and celestial mechanics.

In the 19th century, the Landis surname found its way to the United States, where it was often associated with German and Swiss immigrants. One prominent American with this last name was Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a federal judge born in 1866 in Ohio. He is best known for serving as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 to 1944.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Landis

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

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 Landis 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 Landis 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 Landis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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