2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Liesner
A surname with German origins meaning something akin to "pleasant one" or "lovely one".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Liesner. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Liesner 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Liesner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Liesner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Liesner
The surname Liesner is of German origin, and it is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century. The name is derived from the German word "liese," which means "a meadow" or "a pasture." It is likely that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked on a meadow or a pasture.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Liesner can be found in various historical documents from the German regions, particularly in areas such as Saxony and Thuringia. Some of the earliest records of the name date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, where it was spelled in various ways, including "Liesner," "Liesener," and "Liessner."
One notable historical reference to the name Liesner can be found in the records of the Stadt Chemnitz in Saxony, where a certain Johann Liesner is mentioned as a landowner in the year 1587. Another early record of the name comes from the town of Weida in Thuringia, where a man named Hans Liesner is listed as a resident in the town's tax records from the year 1632.
In terms of notable individuals with the surname Liesner, one of the earliest recorded was Johann Gottfried Liesner, a German composer and organist who lived from 1673 to 1756. He was known for his work as the organist at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where he also served as the music director.
Another prominent figure with the name Liesner was Karl Liesner, a German painter and engraver who was born in Dresden in 1836 and died in 1916. He was known for his landscapes and portraits, and his works can be found in various museums and galleries across Germany.
In the 19th century, a notable Liesner was Gustav Liesner, a German botanist who lived from 1839 to 1891. He was known for his work in the field of plant taxonomy and his contributions to the study of the flora of South America, particularly in Venezuela and Colombia.
In more recent history, one of the most well-known individuals with the surname Liesner was Robert Liesner, an American botanist who lived from 1922 to 2013. He was a renowned expert on the flora of the Guiana Shield region in South America and made significant contributions to the study of plant diversity in that area.
Another noteworthy individual with the name Liesner was Fritz Liesner, a German-American architect who lived from 1902 to 1997. He was known for his work in the field of modernist architecture and designed several notable buildings in the United States, including the Miami Beach Public Library and the American Airlines Terminal at Miami International Airport.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liesner
Among Census respondents with the surname Liesner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Liesner 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 Liesner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 99
- Two or more races4.8% · 5
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Liesner
Liesner 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-19 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,096 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,055 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 28,096 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 3,055 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 Liesner 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 | #156,044 | #152,989 | 2.0% |
| Count | 104 | 105 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Liesner bearers went from 104 to 105 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,055 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #152,989.
FAQ
Liesner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Liesner?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Liesner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Liesner?
Liesner ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Liesner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Liesner.
Has Liesner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Liesner went from 104 recorded bearers to 105. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Liesner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Liesner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Liesner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Liesner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (4.8%), Black (1.0%). 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 Liesner (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 Liesner mean?
A surname with German origins meaning something akin to "pleasant one" or "lovely one". 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 Liesner (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 many people share the surname Liesner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.