2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Liebegott
A German surname indicating God's love or God is love.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Liebegott. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Liebegott 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Liebegott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Liebegott, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Liebegott
The surname Liebegott is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German words "liebe" meaning "love" and "gott" meaning "god." It likely emerged sometime during the 13th or 14th century as a descriptive surname, given to individuals known for their pious or devout nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Neunkirchen in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Here, a Matthias Liebegott is listed in an entry dated 1598.
In the 17th century, the name appears sporadically in various historical documents across central and eastern Germany, with slight variations in spelling such as Liebegott, Liebegott, and Liebegodt. Notable bearers from this period include Johannes Liebegott (1622-1683), a German theologian and academic who served as rector of the University of Leipzig.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it also found its way into various place names. For instance, the village of Liebegottes in Saxony is believed to have been named after an early settler or landowner bearing the surname.
In the 19th century, the Liebegott name gained greater prominence with the birth of Emil Liebegott (1824-1899), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and architectural works. Another noteworthy figure was Karl Liebegott (1868-1942), a German architect whose designs included several iconic buildings in Leipzig.
As Germans immigrated to other parts of the world, the Liebegott name traveled with them. One such example is Johann Liebegott (1837-1912), a German-American farmer and soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
While not as common as some other German surnames, Liebegott has persisted throughout the centuries, carried by individuals across various professions and regions. Its unique combination of meaning, rooted in the concepts of love and devotion to God, has undoubtedly contributed to its enduring legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liebegott
Among Census respondents with the surname Liebegott, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Liebegott 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 Liebegott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 8
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Liebegott
Liebegott 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+7 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,398 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-7 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,430 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 2,398 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 8,430 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 Liebegott 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 | #137,327 | #145,757 | -6.1% |
| Count | 122 | 115 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Liebegott bearers went from 122 to 115 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 8,430 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #145,757.
FAQ
Liebegott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Liebegott?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Liebegott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Liebegott?
Liebegott ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Liebegott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Liebegott.
Has Liebegott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Liebegott went from 122 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Liebegott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Liebegott, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Liebegott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Liebegott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (7.0%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Liebegott (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 Liebegott mean?
A German surname indicating God's love or God is love. 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 Liebegott (0.04 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 Liebegott?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Liebegott is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.