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

Leventhal, 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 Leventhal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leventhal in America

Leventhal is the 16120th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leventhal surname appeared 1,796 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Leventhal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leventhal 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 Leventhal

The surname Leventhal has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in areas that are now part of Poland and Russia. It is a Jewish surname that emerged in the 18th century, derived from the Yiddish word "levent," meaning a student of Talmudic literature.

The earliest recorded instances of the Leventhal surname can be traced back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Jewish communities in Poland and the Russian Empire. It is believed that the name was initially adopted by families whose ancestors were scholars or students of Jewish religious texts.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many individuals with the Leventhal surname immigrated to the United States, particularly from Poland and Russia, fleeing persecution and seeking better opportunities. This led to the establishment of Leventhal families in various parts of the country.

One notable individual with the Leventhal surname was Isaac Leventhal (1888-1959), a Polish-American rabbi and author who served as the president of the Rabbinical Council of America from 1944 to 1959. He played a significant role in the development of Orthodox Judaism in the United States.

Another prominent figure was Sidney Leventhal (1911-1993), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton, Massachusetts. He was also a benefactor of several educational institutions, including Harvard University and Brandeis University.

In the field of medicine, Dr. Stanley Leventhal (1920-2009) was a renowned American psychiatrist and researcher who made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and other reproductive health issues.

The Leventhal surname has also been associated with the arts. One example is David Leventhal (1924-2018), an American dancer and choreographer who co-founded the Dance Theater Workshop in New York City, a prominent center for contemporary dance.

Finally, in the legal profession, Michael Leventhal (1947-2018) was a prominent American lawyer and civil rights advocate who played a crucial role in challenging discriminatory practices in housing and education in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leventhal

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Leventhal, 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!