2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Lenthe
A Dutch surname derived from the place name Lenthe, near Almelo.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Lenthe. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lenthe 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Lenthe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lenthe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lenthe
The surname Lenthe is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word 'lenten', meaning 'loin' or 'flank', suggesting that the name may have been an occupational name for a butcher or a nickname for a stout or broad-shouldered person.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lenthe can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Heinrich Lenthe, a merchant from Hamburg who is mentioned in records from 1275.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the records of the town of Lübeck, where a certain Johannes Lenthe is listed as a member of the town council in 1342. During this period, the name was also found in other parts of northern Germany, such as the regions of Mecklenburg and Pomerania.
The name Lenthe is believed to have originated from the place name Lenthe, a small village in Lower Saxony, Germany. This village is first mentioned in historical records from the 11th century, and it is possible that the surname was initially adopted by individuals who hailed from this location.
In the 16th century, the name Lenthe gained prominence with the birth of Johann Lenthe (1492-1562), a German theologian and reformer who was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the spread of Lutheranism in northern Germany.
Another notable bearer of the name was Bernhard Lenthe (1703-1779), a German composer and organist who served as the court organist in Hanover. He was renowned for his compositions for organ and harpsichord, which were widely performed and published during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, the Lenthe surname can be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in areas with significant German immigration, such as the United States and Canada. One notable individual from this period was Carl Lenthe (1818-1892), a German-American artist and lithographer who was active in the mid-19th century and is known for his illustrations of the American Civil War.
Over the centuries, the surname Lenthe has also been recorded with variations in spelling, such as Lente, Lenten, and Lenthen, reflecting the diversity of regional dialects and scribal practices in different parts of Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lenthe
Among Census respondents with the surname Lenthe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Lenthe 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 Lenthe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 3
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lenthe
Lenthe 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+13 bearers (+13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,235 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-10 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,981 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+13.0%) | Up 4,235 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 7,981 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 Lenthe 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 | #146,201 | #154,182 | -5.5% |
| Count | 113 | 103 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lenthe bearers went from 113 to 103 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 7,981 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #154,182.
FAQ
Lenthe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lenthe?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Lenthe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Lenthe?
Lenthe ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Lenthe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Lenthe.
Has Lenthe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lenthe went from 113 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Lenthe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lenthe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%). 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 Lenthe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lenthe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (6.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%). 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 Lenthe (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 Lenthe mean?
A Dutch surname derived from the place name Lenthe, near Almelo. 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 Lenthe (0.03 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 share the surname Lenthe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.