Find out how popular the last name Leerhoff is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Leerhoff.
An occupational surname derived from Middle Low German meaning "maker of buckets or tubs."
Leerhoff, 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 Leerhoff surname is from the 2010 census data.
Leerhoff is the 139228th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Leerhoff surname appeared 120 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Leerhoff.
We can also compare 2010 data for Leerhoff 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 139228 | 144908 | -4.00% |
| Count | 120 | 105 | 13.33% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.00% |
The surname Leerhoff is of German origin, emerging in the 16th century from the northern regions of Germany, particularly around the area of Hamburg. It is believed to be derived from the Low German words "leer" meaning "empty" or "vacant" and "hoff" meaning "courtyard" or "farm." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived on or near an empty or vacant farmstead.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Leerhoff can be found in church records and land registries from the mid-1500s in the towns and villages surrounding Hamburg. Some variations in spelling, such as Lerhoff and Leerhoffe, were common during this period due to inconsistencies in record-keeping and regional dialects.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Leerhoff was Hans Leerhoff, a farmer from the village of Altenwerder near Hamburg, who was mentioned in a land deed from 1578. Another notable figure was Joachim Leerhoff, a merchant from the city of Lübeck, whose name appeared in trade records dating back to the early 1600s.
In the 17th century, the name Leerhoff began to spread beyond its northern German origins, with some families settling in other parts of the region. For example, Johannes Leerhoff, born in 1635 in Hamburg, later moved to the town of Celle in Lower Saxony, where he established a successful brewing business.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several individuals with the surname Leerhoff achieved recognition in various fields. Friedrich Leerhoff (1732-1806) was a prominent Lutheran theologian and author from Mecklenburg, while Johann Leerhoff (1770-1842) was a celebrated painter and art instructor from Hamburg.
As the name Leerhoff continued to disperse throughout Germany and beyond, it also underwent further variations in spelling, such as Lerhoff, Leerhoff, and Leerhove. One notable bearer of the name during this time was the German-American author and journalist Karl Leerhoff (1845-1919), who immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and worked for several German-language newspapers in New York City.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Leerhoff.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Leerhoff was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 99.17% | 119 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 0.00% | 0 |
| Hispanic Origin | (S)% | (S) |
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 Leerhoff has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 99.17% | 98.10% | 1.08% |
| Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.00% | (S)% | (S)% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Two or More Races | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Hispanic | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
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 Leerhoff was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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