2000
#5,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,560
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.06
Rare Last name
Lightner
A surname referring to a person who lived in a lightly wooded area or a clear meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,357 Americans carry the last name Lightner. That puts it at #5,975 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,918 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lightner 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
6.4K
1 in 53,918
Census rank
#5,975
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,544 bearers of the surname Lightner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5975th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lightner, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lightner
The surname Lightner is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the German word "Licht," which means "light." In its earliest form, the name was spelled as "Lichtner" and was a descriptive surname given to someone who lived near a source of light, such as a lighthouse or a candle-maker's shop.
The name Lightner first appeared in historical records in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, in the late 1300s. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in a 1389 document that mentioned a "Johannes Lichtner," who was a candle-maker by trade.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Lightner family spread throughout various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. Some branches of the family adopted variations of the spelling, such as "Lichtener" or "Lichtnauer," but the core meaning remained the same.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure bearing the name Lightner was Johann Christoph Lightner (1732-1802), a German theologian and author who wrote several books on religious subjects. Another famous Lightner was Wilhelm Lightner (1801-1878), a German painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
As the Lightner family spread across Europe, some members eventually emigrated to the United States and other parts of the world. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was in 1754, when a Johann Lightner arrived in Philadelphia from Germany.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lightner include:
1. Joseph Lightner (1789-1865), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.
2. Mary Lightner (1808-1886), an early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of Joseph Smith's plural wives.
3. Otto Lightner (1856-1926), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida.
4. Mildred Lightner (1892-1982), an American teacher and author who wrote several children's books, including the popular "Miss Twiggley" series.
5. Edward Lightner (1928-2020), an American jazz musician and composer known for his work with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and other big bands.
While the Lightner name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with bearers of the surname making significant contributions in fields such as politics, religion, business, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lightner
Among Census respondents with the surname Lightner, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Lightner 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 Lightner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.4% · 4,122
- Black or African American17.4% · 964
- Two or more races4.4% · 242
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 162
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lightner
Lightner 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
#6,029
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,701
+141 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.93
Rank movement Down 313 places
2020
#5,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,544
-157 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.85
Rank movement Up 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,716 | 5,560 | 2.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,029 | 5,701 | 1.93 | +141 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 313 places |
| 2020 | #5,975 | 5,544 | 1.85 | -157 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 54 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 Lightner 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 | #6,029 | #5,975 | 0.9% |
| Count | 5,701 | 5,544 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.93 | 1.85 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lightner bearers went from 5,701 to 5,544 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,029 to #5,975.
FAQ
Lightner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lightner?
Name Census estimates that about 6,357 living Americans carry the surname Lightner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,918 residents.
How common is Lightner?
Lightner ranks #5,975 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,544 people with the surname Lightner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lightner.
Has Lightner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lightner went from 5,701 recorded bearers to 5,544. That is a decrease of 157 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,029 to #5,975.
What does the Census say about the background of Lightner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lightner, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Lightner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.4% (4,122 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lightner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.4%), Black (17.4%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Lightner (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 Lightner mean?
A surname referring to a person who lived in a lightly wooded area or a clear meadow. 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 Lightner (1.85 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 Lightner?
Want to know how many people have the last name Lightner? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.