2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Lewald
A German surname derived from the place name Lewald or Lewalden.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 162 Americans carry the last name Lewald. That puts it at #127,013 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,115,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lewald 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
162
1 in 2,115,768
Census rank
#127,013
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
141
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 141 bearers of the surname Lewald in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 127013th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lewald
The surname LEWALD is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German words "lê" meaning "pasture" or "meadow" and "walt" meaning "forest". It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, in the forested regions of central and southern Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Thuringian town chronicles of the 15th century, where a certain Hanns Lewald is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Gräfenroda. The name's spelling varied at the time, with variants such as Lewaldt, Lewalden, and Lewalt appearing in different records.
The LEWALD surname is also linked to several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Carl Gottfried Lewald (1788-1871), a German writer and journalist who wrote extensively on the social and political issues of his time. Another prominent individual was Fanny Lewald (1811-1889), a German novelist and pioneering feminist who advocated for women's rights and education.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the literary works of August Lewald (1792-1871), a German writer and dramatist. His son, Adolf Lewald (1827-1898), followed in his footsteps and became a renowned novelist and playwright in his own right.
The LEWALD surname can also be traced back to various place names in Germany, such as the village of Lewald in Saxony-Anhalt and the town of Lewalde in Lower Saxony. These place names likely derived from the same linguistic roots as the surname, reflecting the forested landscapes where the name originated.
Other notable individuals bearing the LEWALD surname include Ernst Lewald (1865-1953), a German jurist and politician who served as a member of the Reichstag, and Margarethe Lewald (1854-1920), a German writer and educator known for her novels and works on women's issues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lewald
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lewald 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 Lewald surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 4
- Two or more races2.8% · 4
- Black or African American0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lewald
Lewald 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-5 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,828 places
2020
#127,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+21 bearers (+17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 12,215 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 12,828 places |
| 2020 | #127,013 | 141 | 0.05 | +21 bearers (+17.5%) | Up 12,215 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 Lewald 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 | #139,228 | #127,013 | 8.8% |
| Count | 120 | 141 | 17.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 17.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lewald bearers went from 120 to 141 (+17.5% change). The surname moved up 12,215 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #127,013.
FAQ
Lewald surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lewald?
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the surname Lewald. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,115,768 residents.
How common is Lewald?
Lewald ranks #127,013 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 141 people with the surname Lewald. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (162), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Lewald.
Has Lewald become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lewald went from 120 recorded bearers to 141. That is an increase of 21 (+17.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #139,228 to #127,013.
What does the Census say about the background of Lewald?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Lewald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (132 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lewald appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Lewald (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 Lewald mean?
A German surname derived from the place name Lewald or Lewalden. 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 Lewald (0.05 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 common is the surname Lewald?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Lewald on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.