2000
#75,938
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 236
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Leonberger
A German surname referring to a person from the town of Leonberg.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 268 Americans carry the last name Leonberger. That puts it at #85,854 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,278,934 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leonberger 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
268
1 in 1,278,934
Census rank
#85,854
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
234
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 234 bearers of the surname Leonberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 85854th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leonberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leonberger
The surname LEONBERGER is of German origin and dates back to the early 19th century. It is derived from the town of Leonberg, located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The town's name itself is derived from the German words "Leuen" meaning "lion" and "Berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill."
The earliest known recorded instances of the surname LEONBERGER can be found in official records from the early 1800s in the Leonberg region. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled with slight variations such as LEONBERGAR or LEONBERGHER, but the current spelling of LEONBERGER became standardized by the mid-19th century.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname LEONBERGER was Johann Friedrich LEONBERGER (1795-1867), a German farmer and landowner from the town of Leonberg. His son, Karl LEONBERGER (1827-1901), was a prominent local businessman who helped establish the town's first brewery in the 1860s.
Another notable figure was the artist and illustrator Wilhelm LEONBERGER (1848-1921), who was born in Leonberg and is best known for his intricate woodcut illustrations of rural life and landscapes in Baden-Württemberg.
In the late 19th century, the LEONBERGER surname began to spread beyond the Leonberg region as individuals emigrated to other parts of Germany and abroad. One such individual was Heinrich LEONBERGER (1874-1942), who emigrated to the United States in the 1890s and became a successful farmer in Kansas.
A more recent example is the German physicist and Nobel laureate Walter LEONBERGER (1921-2010), who was born in the town of Leonberg and made significant contributions to the field of quantum mechanics.
Throughout its history, the surname LEONBERGER has remained closely tied to its geographic origins in the Leonberg region of Baden-Württemberg, and many individuals with this surname can trace their ancestral roots back to this area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leonberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Leonberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Leonberger 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 Leonberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 214
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 12
- Two or more races2.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leonberger
Leonberger 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
#77,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 248
+12 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 1,326 places
2020
#85,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 234
-14 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 8,590 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #75,938 | 236 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #77,264 | 248 | 0.08 | +12 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 1,326 places |
| 2020 | #85,854 | 234 | 0.08 | -14 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 8,590 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 Leonberger 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 | #77,264 | #85,854 | -11.1% |
| Count | 248 | 234 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leonberger bearers went from 248 to 234 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 8,590 positions in the national ranking, going from #77,264 to #85,854.
FAQ
Leonberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leonberger?
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the surname Leonberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,278,934 residents.
How common is Leonberger?
Leonberger ranks #85,854 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 234 people with the surname Leonberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Leonberger.
Has Leonberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leonberger went from 248 recorded bearers to 234. That is a decrease of 14 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #77,264 to #85,854.
What does the Census say about the background of Leonberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leonberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Leonberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (214 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leonberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Leonberger (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 Leonberger mean?
A German surname referring to a person from the town of Leonberg. 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 Leonberger (0.08 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 are called Leonberger?
Want to know how common the surname Leonberger is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.