2000
#11,126
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,616
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Laufer
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a runner, messenger, or courier.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,019 Americans carry the last name Laufer. That puts it at #11,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,532 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Laufer 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
3.0K
1 in 113,532
Census rank
#11,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,633 bearers of the surname Laufer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Laufer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laufer
Among Census respondents with the surname Laufer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Laufer 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 Laufer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,455
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 110
- Two or more races1.6% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Laufer
Laufer 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
#11,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,700
+84 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 494 places
2020
#11,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,633
-67 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 171 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,126 | 2,616 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,620 | 2,700 | 0.92 | +84 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 494 places |
| 2020 | #11,449 | 2,633 | 0.88 | -67 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 171 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 Laufer 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 | #11,620 | #11,449 | 1.5% |
| Count | 2,700 | 2,633 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.88 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Laufer bearers went from 2,700 to 2,633 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 171 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,620 to #11,449.
FAQ
Laufer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Laufer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,019 living Americans carry the surname Laufer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,532 residents.
How common is Laufer?
Laufer ranks #11,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,633 people with the surname Laufer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,019), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Laufer.
Has Laufer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Laufer went from 2,700 recorded bearers to 2,633. That is a decrease of 67 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,620 to #11,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Laufer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Laufer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Laufer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,455 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Laufer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Laufer (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 Laufer mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a runner, messenger, or courier. 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 Laufer (0.88 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 have the last name Laufer?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Laufer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.