2000
#54,385
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 355
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Laner
An occupational surname derived from the trade of a lawnmower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 310 Americans carry the last name Laner. That puts it at #76,719 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,105,659 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laner 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
310
1 in 1,105,659
Census rank
#76,719
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
270
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 270 bearers of the surname Laner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 76719th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laner, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (18.9%) and Hispanic (8.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laner
The surname Laner is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in historical records dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to have derived from the German word "Lane," which refers to a narrow path or road. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname for someone who lived or worked near a lane or path.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In this document, a person named Henricus Laner is mentioned in an entry dated 1287.
Another early reference to the name Laner appears in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Hildesheim, a collection of historical records from the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony. Here, a person named Johannes Laner is mentioned in a document from 1349.
The Laner surname can also be traced back to various place names in Germany, such as Lanefeld, Lanenhausen, and Lanenbach. These place names likely originated from the same root word "Lane" and may have contributed to the development of the surname.
One notable individual with the surname Laner was Johann Laner, a German composer and organist who lived from 1773 to 1843. He is known for his contributions to sacred music and his work as a music teacher in Vienna.
Another historically significant person was Friedrich Laner, a German politician and lawyer who lived from 1820 to 1891. He served as a member of the Reichstag (the parliament of the German Empire) and was involved in the unification of Germany.
In the United Kingdom, the surname Laner has a slightly different origin and is believed to be derived from the Old English word "lane," meaning a narrow road or path. One early recorded instance of this name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Willelmus de la Lane is listed as a landowner in Oxfordshire.
In the Netherlands, the surname Laner may be a variant spelling of the more common surname "Lanen." This name is believed to have originated from the Dutch word "laan," which also means a lane or path.
Finally, in the United States, the surname Laner is relatively rare and is likely derived from German or English immigrants who brought the name with them to the New World. One notable American with this surname was Henry Laner, a politician and businessman from Ohio who lived from 1850 to 1920.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laner
Among Census respondents with the surname Laner, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (18.9%) and Hispanic (8.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Laner 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 Laner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.8% · 183
- American Indian and Alaska Native18.9% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 23
- Black or African American2.2% · 6
- Two or more races2.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laner
Laner 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
#70,208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 279
-76 bearers (-21.4%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 15,823 places
2020
#76,719
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 270
-9 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 6,511 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #54,385 | 355 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #70,208 | 279 | 0.09 | -76 bearers (-21.4%) | Down 15,823 places |
| 2020 | #76,719 | 270 | 0.09 | -9 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 6,511 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 Laner 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 | #70,208 | #76,719 | -9.3% |
| Count | 279 | 270 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laner bearers went from 279 to 270 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 6,511 positions in the national ranking, going from #70,208 to #76,719.
FAQ
Laner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laner?
Name Census estimates that about 310 living Americans carry the surname Laner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,105,659 residents.
How common is Laner?
Laner ranks #76,719 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 270 people with the surname Laner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (310), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Laner.
Has Laner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laner went from 279 recorded bearers to 270. That is a decrease of 9 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #70,208 to #76,719.
What does the Census say about the background of Laner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laner, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (18.9%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Laner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.8% (183 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (18.9%), Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Laner (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 Laner mean?
An occupational surname derived from the trade of a lawnmower. 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 Laner (0.09 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 share the surname Laner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.