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

Leiby, 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 Leiby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leiby in America

Leiby is the 17537th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leiby surname appeared 1,605 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 Leiby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leiby 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 Leiby

The surname Leiby is of German origin, derived from the medieval personal name Leib, which means "beloved" or "dear one." This name can be traced back to the 12th century in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leiby can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Konrad Leiby was mentioned as a landowner. The name was also present in the records of the city of Nuremberg during the 15th century.

In the 16th century, the Leiby family was well-established in the town of Heidelberg, where Johannes Leiby (1524-1588) was a respected scholar and professor at the University of Heidelberg. His son, Friedrich Leiby (1565-1627), followed in his footsteps and became a renowned theologian.

The name Leiby is also connected to the town of Leibertingen in Baden-Württemberg, which was once known as Leibertingen an der Donau. This place name likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in that region.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure with the surname Leiby was Johann Christoph Leiby (1718-1792), a German composer and organist from the city of Mannheim. His works were widely performed and admired during his lifetime.

Another notable individual with the last name Leiby was Johanna Leiby (1805-1879), a German-American farmer and landowner who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 19th century. She was known for her successful agricultural endeavors and her contributions to the local community.

As the Leiby family spread across different regions of Europe and eventually to the Americas, variations in spelling emerged, such as Leibee, Leibie, and Lieby. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the German word Leib, reflecting its enduring connection to the concept of "beloved."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leiby

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

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

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

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