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

Lehner, 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 Lehner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lehner in America

Lehner is the 10287th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lehner surname appeared 3,133 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 Lehner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lehner 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 Lehner

The surname Lehner is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Lehner," meaning a person who worked as a clay worker or brick maker. This occupational surname was initially given to individuals whose primary trade involved working with clay and creating bricks, tiles, or pottery.

The name is believed to have originated in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland, where the clay-working industry thrived. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in German parish records and municipal archives dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.

One of the earliest known references to the name Lehner appears in the "Heidelberger Schöffenbuch" (Heidelberg Bench Book), a legal record from the city of Heidelberg, dating back to the year 1399. This document mentions a "Hans Lehner," who was likely a brick maker or potter residing in the city at that time.

In the 16th century, the name Lehner can be found in various German historical records, including the "Kirchenbücher" (Church Books) of several German towns and villages. For instance, the birth of "Johann Lehner" is recorded in the parish register of Nürnberg (Nuremberg) in 1523.

A notable figure bearing the surname Lehner was Johann Georg Lehner (1664-1736), a German architect and sculptor from Bavaria. He is known for his work on several churches and monastic buildings in the Baroque style, including the Kloster Andechs near Munich.

Another individual of historical significance was Johann Lehner (1731-1812), a German-Austrian composer and organist from Salzburg. He is recognized for his contributions to the development of church music in the late 18th century.

In the 19th century, the name Lehner can be found in connection with various place names and older spellings of place names across Germany. For example, the town of Lehnerhof in Bavaria was once known as "Lehnerhoven," derived from the surname Lehner.

Other individuals who carried the surname Lehner include Karl Lehner (1828-1899), an Austrian painter and lithographer who specialized in landscape and genre scenes, and Maximilian Lehner (1830-1892), a German-American architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Throughout history, the surname Lehner has been associated with various occupations related to clay work, brickmaking, and pottery, as well as other fields such as architecture, art, music, and engineering. While the name originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lehner

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

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

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

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