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

Laufer, 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 Laufer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laufer in America

Laufer is the 11620th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laufer surname appeared 2,700 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Laufer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laufer 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 Laufer

The surname LAUFER is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word "loufer" which referred to a runner or messenger. It first emerged in the 14th century in the regions of modern-day southern Germany and Austria.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, from 1387, where a certain Hans Laufer is mentioned as a resident. The name is also present in the historical tax rolls of Nuremberg from the 15th century.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various forms such as Lauffer, Laufffer, and Laufter, reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. During this time, the name was particularly concentrated in the regions of Franconia and Bavaria.

A notable early bearer of the name was Johannes Laufer (c. 1490-1562), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who was a close associate of Martin Luther. He played a key role in the Reformation movement in Saxony.

Another prominent figure was Philipp Laufer (1573-1642), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg. His works include sacred and secular compositions for voices and instruments.

In the 18th century, the name spread further across German-speaking areas, with records showing bearers in regions such as Silesia (now part of Poland) and the Rhineland. One example is Johann Friedrich Laufer (1711-1787), a German Lutheran theologian and author from Silesia.

The 19th century saw the migration of many LAUFER families to other parts of Europe and the Americas, following the political and economic upheavals of the time. This led to the establishment of the name in countries like the United States, Canada, and Argentina.

One prominent bearer from this period was Emil Laufer (1837-1909), an Austrian archaeologist and anthropologist who conducted extensive research on the ancient cultures of the American Southwest, particularly the Hopi and Zuni tribes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laufer

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

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

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

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