Find out how popular the last name Levitan is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Levitan.
A Jewish surname derived from the biblical name "Levi" and related to the Levites, members of the Hebrew tribe of Levi.
Levitan, 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 Levitan surname is from the 2010 census data.
Levitan is the 23002nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Levitan surname appeared 1,111 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 Levitan.
We can also compare 2010 data for Levitan 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 23002 | 22196 | 3.57% |
| Count | 1,111 | 1,085 | 2.37% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.38 | 0.40 | -5.13% |
The surname Levitan is of Jewish origin, traced back to the 17th century in Eastern Europe. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Levi," meaning "joined" or "attached," and is believed to be a reference to the biblical tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel.
The earliest recorded instances of the Levitan surname can be found in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It is likely that the name originated as a patronymic, indicating a familial connection to an ancestor named Levi or a variant spelling, such as Levite or Levite.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many Levitan families were documented in Jewish community records, birth and marriage registers, and other official documents in cities like Warsaw, Vilnius, and Odessa. The name also appeared in various spellings, including Levitansky, Levitanski, and Levitanovich, reflecting the influence of local languages and dialects.
One notable historical figure bearing the Levitan surname was Isaak Ilyich Levitan, a renowned Russian landscape painter born in 1860. His works captured the beauty of the Russian countryside and were instrumental in the development of the Russian Realist movement.
Another prominent individual was Yuri Borisovich Levitan, a Soviet radio announcer born in 1914, who became famous for his live broadcast announcing the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945. His voice was instantly recognizable to millions of Soviet citizens during World War II.
In the 19th century, a notable Levitan family lived in the town of Zhitomir, in present-day Ukraine. Among them was Chaim Levitan, a respected scholar and community leader who authored several works on Jewish law and philosophy.
Another Levitan of historical significance was Max Levitan, a Russian-born American businessman who co-founded the American Tobacco Company in the late 19th century. He played a crucial role in the early development of the tobacco industry in the United States.
Lastly, Igor Levitan, a Russian chess grandmaster born in 1936, made significant contributions to the game and was recognized as one of the strongest players in the Soviet Union during his prime years.
While the Levitan surname has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread globally due to migration and diaspora, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and historical significance.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Levitan.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Levitan was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 97.39% | 1,082 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 0.54% | 6 |
| Hispanic Origin | 1.62% | 18 |
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 Levitan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 97.39% | 97.24% | 0.15% |
| Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | 0.55% | (S)% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 0.54% | 0.74% | -31.25% |
| Hispanic | 1.62% | 1.29% | 22.68% |
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 Levitan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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