2000
#11,250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,580
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Leibowitz
Jewish surname derived from the Slavic given name Lejb or Leib, meaning "lion" in Yiddish or Hebrew.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,867 Americans carry the last name Leibowitz. That puts it at #11,953 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,552 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leibowitz 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
2.9K
1 in 119,552
Census rank
#11,953
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,500 bearers of the surname Leibowitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11953rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leibowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leibowitz
The surname Leibowitz is of Jewish Ashkenazi origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages in the German-speaking regions of Central and Eastern Europe. It is a variation of the Yiddish name Leib, derived from the Hebrew name Levi, meaning "joined" or "attached."
Leibowitz is a patronymic surname, indicating that it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-owitz" or "-witz" to the personal name Leib. This naming convention was common among Ashkenazi Jews, with the suffix often translating to "son of." Consequently, Leibowitz would have initially referred to the son of a man named Leib.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Leibowitz name can be found in the Memorbuch of Nuremberg, a Jewish memorial book dating back to the late 15th century. This document lists several individuals with the surname Leibowitz, suggesting that the name had already been established by that time.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Jewish population faced persecution and expulsion from various regions of Europe, many families bearing the Leibowitz name sought refuge in neighboring areas, including Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. This diaspora helped to spread the name across a wider geographic area.
Notable individuals with the surname Leibowitz include:
1. Yehoshua Leibowitz (1893-1994), an Israeli public intellectual, philosopher, and professor of biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
2. Renée Leibowitz (1908-1972), a French composer, music theorist, and influential teacher known for her advocacy of serialism and the Second Viennese School.
3. Samuel Leibowitz (1893-1978), a prominent American lawyer and judge who gained national recognition for his defense of high-profile cases, including the "Scottsboro Boys" trial.
4. Annie Leibowitz (born 1949), an American portrait photographer renowned for her iconic images of celebrities and public figures.
5. Herman Leibowitz (1902-1989), an American lawyer and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
While the surname Leibowitz has its origins in the Jewish diaspora of Central and Eastern Europe, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by individuals and families seeking new opportunities or fleeing persecution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leibowitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Leibowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Leibowitz 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 Leibowitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 2,301
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 97
- Two or more races2.7% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leibowitz
Leibowitz 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
#12,017
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,598
+18 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 767 places
2020
#11,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,500
-98 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,250 | 2,580 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,017 | 2,598 | 0.88 | +18 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 767 places |
| 2020 | #11,953 | 2,500 | 0.84 | -98 bearers (-3.8%) | Up 64 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 Leibowitz 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 | #12,017 | #11,953 | 0.5% |
| Count | 2,598 | 2,500 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.84 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leibowitz bearers went from 2,598 to 2,500 (-3.8% change). The surname moved up 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,017 to #11,953.
FAQ
Leibowitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leibowitz?
Name Census estimates that about 2,867 living Americans carry the surname Leibowitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,552 residents.
How common is Leibowitz?
Leibowitz ranks #11,953 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,500 people with the surname Leibowitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,867), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Leibowitz.
Has Leibowitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leibowitz went from 2,598 recorded bearers to 2,500. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,017 to #11,953.
What does the Census say about the background of Leibowitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leibowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Leibowitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (2,301 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leibowitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Leibowitz (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 Leibowitz mean?
Jewish surname derived from the Slavic given name Lejb or Leib, meaning "lion" in Yiddish or Hebrew. 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 Leibowitz (0.84 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 Leibowitz?
Want to know how many people are called Leibowitz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.