2000
#9,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,057
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.13
Rare Last name
Laub
A German and Jewish toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a leafy tree or in a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,377 Americans carry the last name Laub. That puts it at #10,417 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laub 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
3.4K
1 in 101,497
Census rank
#10,417
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,945 bearers of the surname Laub in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10417th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laub, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Laub
The surname LAUB is of German origin, originating in the Middle Ages around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "loub," meaning "foliage" or "leaves," suggesting the name may have been given to someone who lived near a wooded area or worked with leaves or foliage in some capacity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LAUB can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Duchy of Saxony, dated around the year 1200. The name appears as "Loube," which was likely a variation of the modern spelling.
In the 14th century, the name LAUB appeared in the Bavarian city of Augsburg, where a Hans Laub was mentioned in a local chronicle from the year 1349. This suggests the name had spread to different regions of Germany by that time.
A notable figure with the surname LAUB was Johann Friedrich Laub (1765-1806), a German composer and organist who was born in Erfurt and served as the court organist in Weimar. His compositions included several organ works and choral pieces.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Georg Laub (1590-1646), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Leipzig. He wrote several influential treatises on Roman law and legal theory during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, Ferdinand Laub (1832-1875) was a renowned Czech violinist and composer who studied under Ferdinand David and performed extensively throughout Europe. He is particularly known for his violin concertos and chamber works.
The surname LAUB can also be found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Laubendorf and Laubenhain, which may have been derived from the same root word and could have influenced the development of the surname in certain regions.
While the name LAUB is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and historical events, carrying with it the rich cultural heritage and linguistic roots of its German origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laub
Among Census respondents with the surname Laub, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Laub 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 Laub surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 2,654
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 143
- Two or more races3.1% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 37
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laub
Laub 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
#10,292
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,131
+74 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 533 places
2020
#10,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,945
-186 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 125 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,759 | 3,057 | 1.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,292 | 3,131 | 1.06 | +74 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 533 places |
| 2020 | #10,417 | 2,945 | 0.99 | -186 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 125 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 Laub 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 | #10,292 | #10,417 | -1.2% |
| Count | 3,131 | 2,945 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 0.99 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laub bearers went from 3,131 to 2,945 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 125 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,292 to #10,417.
FAQ
Laub surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laub?
Name Census estimates that about 3,377 living Americans carry the surname Laub. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,497 residents.
How common is Laub?
Laub ranks #10,417 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,945 people with the surname Laub. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,377), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Laub.
Has Laub become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laub went from 3,131 recorded bearers to 2,945. That is a decrease of 186 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,292 to #10,417.
What does the Census say about the background of Laub?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laub, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Laub in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (2,654 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laub appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (4.9%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Laub (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 Laub mean?
A German and Jewish toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a leafy tree or in a forest. 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 Laub (0.99 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 Americans have the surname Laub?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.