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

Leonhard, 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 Leonhard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leonhard in America

Leonhard is the 22618th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leonhard surname appeared 1,135 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 Leonhard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leonhard 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 Leonhard

The surname LEONHARD has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German personal name Leonhard, which in turn comes from the Old High German words "leu" meaning "lion" and "hart" meaning "hardy" or "brave".

The name is believed to have first emerged in the 12th or 13th century, likely as a descriptive surname referring to a brave or courageous person. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval German records and documents.

One notable historical figure with the surname LEONHARD was Caspar Leonhard (1551-1619), a German physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plants and their medicinal properties. He is remembered for his work, "Opusculum de Plantis" (Little Book of Plants), published in 1590.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Karl Cäsar von Leonhard (1779-1862), a German mineralogist and geologist who made important discoveries in the field of crystallography. He is particularly known for his work on the classification of minerals based on their chemical composition.

In the realm of literature, Rudolph Leonhard (1857-1910) was a German poet and novelist who was part of the Naturalist movement in German literature. His most famous work is the novel "Zwischen Richt und Falsch" (Between Right and Wrong), published in 1887.

Moving into the 20th century, Rudolf Leonhard (1889-1953) was a German philosopher and educator who was influential in the field of pedagogy. He advocated for a more holistic and humanistic approach to education, emphasizing the importance of personal growth and self-actualization.

Another notable figure with the LEONHARD surname is the contemporary German composer and conductor Wolfgang Leonhard (born 1938), who is known for his contributions to contemporary classical music and his work with various orchestras and ensembles.

These are just a few examples of historical figures who have borne the surname LEONHARD, which has its roots in the German language and culture, and has been associated with individuals from various fields, including science, literature, philosophy, and the arts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leonhard

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!