2000
#1,792
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,388
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.82
Uncommon Last name
Landis
An English toponymic surname derived from Old English for someone who lived on or near an enclosure or boundary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,642 Americans carry the last name Landis. That puts it at #1,953 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,605 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Landis 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
21K
1 in 16,605
Census rank
#1,953
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,001 bearers of the surname Landis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1953rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Landis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Landis
Among Census respondents with the surname Landis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Landis 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 Landis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 16,587
- Two or more races2.8% · 501
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 443
- Black or African American1.6% · 285
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 67
Timeline
Historical Census data for Landis
Landis 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
#1,912
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,826
+438 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 6.38
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#1,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,001
-825 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 6.02
Rank movement Down 41 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,792 | 18,388 | 6.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,912 | 18,826 | 6.38 | +438 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #1,953 | 18,001 | 6.02 | -825 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 41 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 Landis 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 | #1,912 | #1,953 | -2.1% |
| Count | 18,826 | 18,001 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 6.38 | 6.02 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Landis bearers went from 18,826 to 18,001 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 41 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,912 to #1,953.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Landis
FAQ
Landis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Landis?
Name Census estimates that about 20,642 living Americans carry the surname Landis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,605 residents.
How common is Landis?
Landis ranks #1,953 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,001 people with the surname Landis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,642), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Landis.
Has Landis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Landis went from 18,826 recorded bearers to 18,001. That is a decrease of 825 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,912 to #1,953.
What does the Census say about the background of Landis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Landis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (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 Landis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (16,587 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Landis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (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 Landis (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 Landis mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from Old English for someone who lived on or near an enclosure or boundary. 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 Landis (6.02 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 Landis?
See how common the surname Landis is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.