2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lautermilch
A German surname meaning "pure milk" or "clear milk".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Lautermilch. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lautermilch 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Lautermilch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lautermilch, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lautermilch
The surname "LAUTERMILCH" originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the German words "lauter" meaning "pure" and "milch" meaning "milk," suggesting a connection to dairy farming or the production of milk products. The name was likely first used as a descriptive nickname or occupational identifier.
The earliest known record of the name appears in a 14th-century registry from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, where a certain Hans Lautermilch was mentioned as a resident. Another early reference is found in a 1402 document from the city of Nuremberg, which lists a Johannes Lautermilch among the local guild members.
During the 16th century, the name Lautermilch was found in various parts of southern Germany, including the regions of Franconia and Swabia. One notable bearer was Andreas Lautermilch (1520-1588), a Protestant theologian and reformer who worked alongside Martin Luther and served as a pastor in the city of Augsburg.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in several historical records from the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany. A notable figure from this period was Johann Lautermilch (1615-1679), a respected jurist and legal scholar who authored several influential works on German law.
As the Lautermilch family spread across different regions, variations in spelling emerged, such as Lautermilck, Lautermilcher, and Lautermilcher. The name was also found in some areas with the spelling "Lautermelch" or "Lautermelk," reflecting local dialects and phonetic variations.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name in the United States was Johann Lautermilch (1732-1811), who emigrated from Germany in the late 18th century and settled in Pennsylvania. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the country.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lautermilch include Heinrich Lautermilch (1819-1892), a German artist and painter known for his landscape and genre scenes, and Wilhelm Lautermilch (1880-1945), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party who served in the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lautermilch
Among Census respondents with the surname Lautermilch, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lautermilch 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 Lautermilch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lautermilch
Lautermilch 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,027 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,813 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 11,027 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 3,813 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 Lautermilch 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 | #144,141 | #147,954 | -2.6% |
| Count | 115 | 112 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lautermilch bearers went from 115 to 112 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 3,813 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #147,954.
FAQ
Lautermilch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lautermilch?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Lautermilch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Lautermilch?
Lautermilch ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 112 people with the surname Lautermilch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Lautermilch.
Has Lautermilch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lautermilch went from 115 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Lautermilch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lautermilch, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Lautermilch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lautermilch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Lautermilch (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 Lautermilch mean?
A German surname meaning "pure milk" or "clear milk". 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 Lautermilch (0.04 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 Lautermilch?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.