2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Leidal
A locational surname likely originating from a place name in Germany or the Netherlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Leidal. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leidal 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Leidal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leidal, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leidal
The surname LEIDAL has its origins in Germany, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. The name is believed to derive from the Old High German words "leit" meaning "people" and "al" meaning "all", suggesting a connection to a leader or chief of a group or community.
The name was initially concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, where it appeared in various forms such as Leidel, Leidl, and Leydel. These spellings reflect the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name LEIDAL can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dated around 1280. This record refers to a certain "Heinrich Leidel" who was a landowner in the village of Oberau.
During the 14th century, the LEIDAL name gained prominence in the city of Nuremberg, where several members of the family were involved in the local guild system. The Nuremberg Haushaltbuch, a historical record of household expenditures, mentions a "Hans Leydel" who served as a master baker in the city in 1372.
In the 15th century, a branch of the LEIDAL family settled in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where they were engaged in the textile trade. The Rothenburg Town Chronicles from 1491 document a "Konrad Leidel" who held the position of a respected cloth merchant.
One notable figure with the LEIDAL surname was Johann Leydel (1516-1589), a Protestant theologian and reformer from Nuremberg. He played a significant role in the spread of Lutheranism in the region and authored several influential theological works.
Another historical figure was Christoph Leydel (1623-1701), a German composer and organist from Saxony. He served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg and contributed to the development of the Baroque music tradition in central Germany.
In the 18th century, the LEIDAL name gained recognition through the work of Gottfried Leydel (1738-1811), a German jurist and legal scholar from Jena. His treatises on civil law and criminal proceedings were widely studied and influential in the field of jurisprudence.
Moving into the 19th century, the LEIDAL surname was associated with the family of Johann Jakob Leydel (1797-1868), a prominent industrialist from Württemberg. He established a successful textile manufacturing business that played a significant role in the region's economic development.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who carried the surname LEIDAL, reflecting its deep roots and significance in various domains, particularly in Germany and the surrounding regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leidal
Among Census respondents with the surname Leidal, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Leidal 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 Leidal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leidal
Leidal 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-13 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,660 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-9 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,650 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 18,660 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 9,650 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 Leidal 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 | #138,304 | #147,954 | -7.0% |
| Count | 121 | 112 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leidal bearers went from 121 to 112 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 9,650 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #147,954.
FAQ
Leidal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leidal?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Leidal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Leidal?
Leidal ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Leidal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Leidal.
Has Leidal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leidal went from 121 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Leidal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leidal, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Leidal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leidal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.4%), Hispanic (1.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Leidal (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 Leidal mean?
A locational surname likely originating from a place name in Germany or the Netherlands. 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 Leidal (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 have the last name Leidal?
Find out how many people are called Leidal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.