2000
#4,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.58
Rare Last name
Lindner
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or worked with lime, a calcium-containing mineral.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,084 Americans carry the last name Lindner. That puts it at #4,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,399 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lindner 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Lindner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.1K
1 in 42,399
Census rank
#4,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,050 bearers of the surname Lindner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lindner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lindner
The surname Lindner originates from Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Linden," which means "linden tree" or "lime tree." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a linden tree or a place with an abundance of these trees.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lindner can be found in medieval German records and documents. One notable example is the appearance of the name in the Weissenburger Urbar, a medieval land register from the Weissenburg Abbey in Alsace, dated around 1300.
Variations of the name, such as Lindener and Lindnair, were also present in historical records, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. The name was particularly common in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Silesia.
In the 16th century, the name Lindner appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents related to the Margraviate of Brandenburg. One notable bearer of the name was Hans Lindner, a merchant and burgher in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder, who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Another prominent figure with the surname Lindner was Johann Gottfried Lindner (1688-1756), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Duke of Saxe-Merseburg.
In the 18th century, Johann Baptist von Lindner (1723-1783) was a notable Austrian architect who designed several important buildings in Vienna, including the Church of St. Michael and the Palais Todesco.
The 19th century saw the emergence of Max Lindner (1854-1917), a German politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Nuremberg from 1899 to 1917.
Additionally, the name Lindner has been associated with various places and geographical locations, such as the town of Lindner in Saxony, Germany, and the Lindner Valley in Austria.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lindner
Among Census respondents with the surname Lindner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lindner 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 Lindner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 6,478
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 219
- Two or more races2.8% · 194
- Black or African American1.3% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lindner
Lindner 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
#4,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,428
+472 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 2.52
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#4,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,050
-378 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.36
Rank movement Down 91 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,664 | 6,956 | 2.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,765 | 7,428 | 2.52 | +472 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #4,856 | 7,050 | 2.36 | -378 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 91 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 Lindner 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 | #4,765 | #4,856 | -1.9% |
| Count | 7,428 | 7,050 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.52 | 2.36 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lindner bearers went from 7,428 to 7,050 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 91 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,765 to #4,856.
FAQ
Lindner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lindner?
Name Census estimates that about 8,084 living Americans carry the surname Lindner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,399 residents.
How common is Lindner?
Lindner ranks #4,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.36 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 7,050 people with the surname Lindner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,084), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.36 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 Lindner.
Has Lindner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lindner went from 7,428 recorded bearers to 7,050. That is a decrease of 378 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,765 to #4,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Lindner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lindner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Lindner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (6,478 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lindner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Lindner (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 Lindner mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or worked with lime, a calcium-containing mineral. 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 Lindner (2.36 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 Lindner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.