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

Leifer, 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 Leifer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leifer in America

Leifer is the 21080th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leifer surname appeared 1,246 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 Leifer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leifer 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 Leifer

The surname Leifer originated in Germany during the early 16th century. It is derived from the German word "leifer," which means "piper" or "flute player." The name likely referred to a person who played the flute or pipe as an occupation or pastime.

The earliest recorded instances of the Leifer surname can be found in various German municipal records and church registers from the 1500s and 1600s. Some of the earliest bearers of the name include Hans Leifer, a piper mentioned in a 1532 document from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and Konrad Leifer, a flautist recorded in a 1587 registry from the city of Nuremberg.

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, many surnames were derived from occupations or trades. The Leifer name is an excellent example of this practice, as it directly refers to the profession of a piper or flute player.

One notable bearer of the Leifer surname was Johann Friedrich Leifer (1658-1721), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician for the Prince of Waldeck. He is remembered for his contributions to Baroque church music and organ compositions.

Another prominent individual with the Leifer surname was Karl Leifer (1808-1870), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and cityscapes of Bavaria and the Black Forest region. His works are held in several museums across Germany.

In the 19th century, Wilhelm Leifer (1823-1900) was a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Reichstag building, which later became the seat of the German Parliament.

The Leifer surname also spread beyond Germany, with some bearers migrating to other parts of Europe and North America. For example, Johann Leifer (1790-1862) was a German-born farmer who emigrated to Pennsylvania in the United States, where he and his descendants contributed to the agricultural development of the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Leifer surname in England can be found in the 1881 census, which lists a family with the surname residing in the county of Lancashire. However, the name remained relatively uncommon in the British Isles compared to its prevalence in Germany and other parts of Central Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leifer

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

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

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

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