2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ledergerber
A German occupational surname referring to a leatherworker or tanner.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Ledergerber. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ledergerber 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Ledergerber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ledergerber, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ledergerber
The surname LEDERGERBER is of German origin, derived from the occupational name for a tanner or leather dresser. It is composed of the German words "leder" meaning leather and "gerber" meaning tanner.
This name first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th century, when surnames derived from occupations became more common. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German town and church records from that era.
One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Hans LEDERGERBER, a tanner who lived in the town of Augsburg in the late 14th century. Records from 1378 mention him as a respected member of the local tanners' guild.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a family of LEDERGERBERS was prominent in the leather-working trade. Johannes LEDERGERBER, born in 1432, was a master tanner and served as a city councilor in Nuremberg.
The LEDERGERBER name also has a presence in Switzerland, likely introduced by German immigrants. In the 16th century, a Swiss branch of the family resided in the canton of Bern. Jakob LEDERGERBER, born in 1524, was a respected citizen of the city of Bern and a member of the local tanning guild.
One of the most notable historical figures with this surname was Johann LEDERGERBER, a German Lutheran theologian and academic who lived in the 17th century (1633-1693). He served as a professor of theology at the University of Giessen and published several influential works on religious subjects.
Another prominent LEDERGERBER was Karl Friedrich LEDERGERBER, a German-born merchant and philanthropist who lived in the 18th century (1719-1793). He made his fortune in the textile trade and donated generously to various charitable causes in his adopted city of Hamburg.
The name LEDERGERBER has been found in various historical records across Germany, Switzerland, and other German-speaking regions, reflecting the widespread nature of the leather-working trade in those areas during the Middle Ages and early modern period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ledergerber
Among Census respondents with the surname Ledergerber, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Ledergerber 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 Ledergerber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ledergerber
Ledergerber 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+9 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 991 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-10 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,439 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 991 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 11,439 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 Ledergerber 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 | #130,610 | #142,049 | -8.8% |
| Count | 130 | 120 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ledergerber bearers went from 130 to 120 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 11,439 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #142,049.
FAQ
Ledergerber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ledergerber?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Ledergerber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Ledergerber?
Ledergerber ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Ledergerber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Ledergerber.
Has Ledergerber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ledergerber went from 130 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Ledergerber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ledergerber, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Ledergerber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ledergerber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Hispanic (9.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Ledergerber (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 Ledergerber mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a leatherworker or tanner. 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 Ledergerber (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 are called Ledergerber?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Ledergerber, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.