2000
#19,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,275
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.47
Rare Last name
Leinbach
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place called Leinbach.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,805 Americans carry the last name Leinbach. That puts it at #17,543 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 189,892 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leinbach 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
1.8K
1 in 189,892
Census rank
#17,543
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,574 bearers of the surname Leinbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17543rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leinbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leinbach
The surname LEINBACH originated in the German states of Baden and Rhineland-Palatinate during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old High German words "lein" meaning "flax" and "bach" meaning "brook" or "stream." The name likely referred to a location near a stream where flax was grown or processed.
The earliest known record of the name LEINBACH dates back to 1382 in the town of Leinbach, near Sinsheim in Baden. The town's name itself is a variant spelling of the surname. In the 15th century, the LEINBACH family held a mill and agricultural lands in the region.
One notable bearer of the LEINBACH name was Johann Georg Leinbach (1646-1721), a German-American pioneer and founder of Leinbach's Land, one of the earliest settlements in what is now Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He immigrated to America in 1684 as part of the Germantown Colony.
Another early American bearer was Jacob Leinbach (1770-1856), a farmer and businessman in Pennsylvania's Berks County. He served as a colonel in the state militia during the War of 1812.
In the 19th century, Johannes Leinbach (1825-1901) was a prominent German architect who designed several notable buildings in Karlsruhe, including the Staatstheater and the Synagogue.
One of the earliest known literary references to the LEINBACH surname appears in the 1845 novel "The Wandering Jew" by Eugène Sue, where a character named Leinbach is mentioned.
Over the centuries, various spelling variations of the name emerged, including Leinpach, Leinpach, Leimbach, and Leinpacher, reflecting regional dialect differences in German-speaking areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leinbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Leinbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Leinbach 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 Leinbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 1,480
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 51
- Two or more races1.3% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leinbach
Leinbach 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
#19,041
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,430
+155 bearers (+12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.48
Rank movement Up 534 places
2020
#17,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,574
+144 bearers (+10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Up 1,498 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,575 | 1,275 | 0.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,041 | 1,430 | 0.48 | +155 bearers (+12.2%) | Up 534 places |
| 2020 | #17,543 | 1,574 | 0.53 | +144 bearers (+10.1%) | Up 1,498 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 Leinbach 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 | #19,041 | #17,543 | 7.9% |
| Count | 1,430 | 1,574 | 10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.48 | 0.53 | 9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leinbach bearers went from 1,430 to 1,574 (+10.1% change). The surname moved up 1,498 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,041 to #17,543.
FAQ
Leinbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leinbach?
Name Census estimates that about 1,805 living Americans carry the surname Leinbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 189,892 residents.
How common is Leinbach?
Leinbach ranks #17,543 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.53 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 1,574 people with the surname Leinbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,805), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.53 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 Leinbach.
Has Leinbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leinbach went from 1,430 recorded bearers to 1,574. That is an increase of 144 (+10.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,041 to #17,543.
What does the Census say about the background of Leinbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leinbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Leinbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (1,480 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leinbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Leinbach (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 Leinbach mean?
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place called Leinbach. 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 Leinbach (0.53 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 Americans have the surname Leinbach?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.