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

Lichten, 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 Lichten surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lichten in America

Lichten is the 116201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lichten surname appeared 150 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 Lichten.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lichten 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 Lichten

The surname LICHTEN originated in Germany and can be traced back to the early 13th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "lioht," which means light or bright, and the suffix "-en," which was commonly used to form place names or descriptive surnames.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the LICHTEN name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dated around 1220. This document mentions a person named Henricus de Lichten, suggesting that the name was already in use during that time period.

The LICHTEN surname is believed to have originated as a descriptive name, referring to individuals who lived near a clearing or bright, open area. It was common for people to adopt surnames based on their occupation, physical characteristics, or the location where they lived.

In the 14th century, the LICHTEN name appeared in the Wachholtz Chronicles, a historical record of the city of Lübeck in northern Germany. This suggests that the name was also present in the region of Holstein and Schleswig-Holstein during that time.

One of the earliest recorded examples of a notable individual with the LICHTEN surname was Johannes Lichten, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1489 to 1551. He was a prominent figure in the Reformation movement and wrote extensively on religious matters.

Another notable figure was Christoph Lichten, a German composer and organist who lived from 1568 to 1635. He was known for his contributions to the development of the Baroque style of music and served as the court organist for several German princes.

In the 18th century, Johann Georg Lichten (1714-1799) was a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He is particularly renowned for his work on the theory of planetary motions and the calculation of cometary orbits.

During the 19th century, Friedrich Lichten (1842-1911) was a prominent German industrialist and entrepreneur. He founded the Lichten Brewery in Berlin, which became one of the largest and most successful breweries in Germany at the time.

In the early 20th century, Max Lichten (1876-1942) was a German-American businessman and philanthropist who emigrated to the United States and established the Lichten Foundation, which supported various educational and charitable initiatives.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lichten

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

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

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

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