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

Lighthizer, 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 Lighthizer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lighthizer in America

Lighthizer is the 103181st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lighthizer surname appeared 174 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 Lighthizer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lighthizer 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 Lighthizer

The surname Lighthizer is of German origin, originating in the late 17th or early 18th century. It likely derived from the Middle High German word "licht," meaning "light," combined with the occupational suffix "-er," indicating a person who worked with or produced light, such as a candlemaker or lamplighter.

This surname was initially found in various regions of Germany, particularly in areas where German was spoken. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to church records and local documents from the 18th century, with variations in spelling such as Lichtizer, Lichthiser, and Lichthizer.

One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Johann Lighthizer, born in 1712 in the town of Steinbach, in the Rhineland region of Germany. He was a candlemaker by trade and passed down the surname to his descendants.

As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and North America during the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Lighthizer spread to these new regions. Some notable individuals with this surname include:

1. Friedrich Lighthizer (1808-1879), a German-American farmer and landowner who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1830s.
2. Anna Lighthizer (1825-1901), a German immigrant to the United States who became a prominent figure in the temperance movement in Ohio.
3. Wilhelm Lighthizer (1841-1923), a German-American Civil War veteran who fought for the Union Army and later became a successful businessman in Illinois.
4. Elizabeth Lighthizer (1867-1944), an American writer and poet who published several collections of poetry and short stories in the early 20th century.
5. Robert E. Lighthizer (born 1947), an American lawyer and former United States Trade Representative under the Trump administration, known for his role in renegotiating trade agreements such as NAFTA and imposing tariffs on imports.

While the surname Lighthizer may have originated as an occupational name, it has since become a respected family name carried by individuals from various walks of life, both in its original German homeland and in other parts of the world where German immigrants settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lighthizer

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

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

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

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