2000
#73,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 245
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Lettich
A surname of Slavic origin meaning "of Letten" or "from Letten."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 247 Americans carry the last name Lettich. That puts it at #91,884 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,387,669 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lettich 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
247
1 in 1,387,669
Census rank
#91,884
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
215
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 215 bearers of the surname Lettich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 91884th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lettich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lettich
The surname LETTICH is believed to have originated in Croatia and Slovenia during the late Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Slavic root word "let", meaning summer or warm season. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a warm or sunny location, or perhaps someone born during the summer months.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LETTICH surname can be found in a census record from the city of Rijeka, Croatia, dated 1495. The name appears as "Letich" in this document. Similar spellings like "Letych" and "Lettych" are also seen in various historical records from the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In a 1612 land registry from the town of Bled, Slovenia, a farmer named Jakob Lettich is listed as owning a sizable plot of land near Lake Bled. This area was part of the Duchy of Carniola at the time, which was under the rule of the Habsburgs.
The name LETTICH appears to have spread beyond Croatia and Slovenia in the 18th century. A merchant named Franz Lettich (1725-1801) is recorded as having lived in Vienna, Austria, and there are records of a family by the name of LETTICH living in Prague, Czech Republic, in the late 1700s.
One notable bearer of the LETTICH surname was Josip Lettich (1839-1912), a Croatian painter and sculptor who studied in Vienna and later became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. His works can be found in various museums across Croatia.
Another individual of note was Alojzije Lettich (1887-1976), a Slovenian engineer and inventor who held numerous patents for his innovations in the field of electrical engineering. He spent much of his career working for companies in Austria and Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lettich
Among Census respondents with the surname Lettich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lettich 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 Lettich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 184
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 12
- Two or more races5.6% · 12
- Black or African American1.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lettich
Lettich 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
#80,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 235
-10 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 7,019 places
2020
#91,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 215
-20 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 11,206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #73,659 | 245 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #80,678 | 235 | 0.08 | -10 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 7,019 places |
| 2020 | #91,884 | 215 | 0.07 | -20 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 11,206 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 Lettich 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 | #80,678 | #91,884 | -13.9% |
| Count | 235 | 215 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.07 | -10.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lettich bearers went from 235 to 215 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 11,206 positions in the national ranking, going from #80,678 to #91,884.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lettich
FAQ
Lettich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lettich?
Name Census estimates that about 247 living Americans carry the surname Lettich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,387,669 residents.
How common is Lettich?
Lettich ranks #91,884 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 215 people with the surname Lettich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (247), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Lettich.
Has Lettich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lettich went from 235 recorded bearers to 215. That is a decrease of 20 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #80,678 to #91,884.
What does the Census say about the background of Lettich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lettich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Lettich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (184 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lettich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Lettich (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 Lettich mean?
A surname of Slavic origin meaning "of Letten" or "from Letten." 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 Lettich (0.07 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 have the last name Lettich?
Find out how many people are called Lettich on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.