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

Linear, 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 Linear surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Linear in America

Linear is the 56710th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Linear surname appeared 360 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 Linear.

We can also compare 2010 data for Linear 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 Linear

The surname Linear is believed to have originated in the Germanic regions of central Europe, specifically in areas that are now part of modern-day Germany and Austria. It is thought to have emerged during the Middle Ages, sometime around the 12th or 13th century.

The name Linear is derived from the Old High German word "linia," which means "line" or "lineage." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived along a boundary line or came from a particular lineage or family line.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Linear can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Duchy of Austria, dating back to the 13th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Liniar" and "Linier," indicating its evolution over time.

In the 14th century, a man named Hans Linear was mentioned in the records of the city of Augsburg, in present-day Bavaria, Germany. This suggests that the name had already gained a foothold in the region by that time.

During the 15th century, the name Linear appeared in the records of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, in present-day Germany. One notable individual with this surname was Johannes Linear, a merchant and member of the city council, who lived from 1420 to 1492.

In the 16th century, the Linear family established itself in the town of Lindau, located on the eastern shore of Lake Constance in southern Germany. A prominent member of this family was Matthias Linear, a respected lawyer and judge who lived from 1525 to 1598.

As the centuries passed, the Linear surname spread to other parts of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In the 18th century, a Dutch painter named Pieter Linear gained recognition for his landscape paintings, although precise dates for his life are unknown.

In the 19th century, a German philosopher and mathematician named Johann Linear made significant contributions to the field of logic and set theory. He was born in 1823 in the city of Göttingen and died in 1897.

Another notable individual with the surname Linear was Friedrich Linear, a German chemist and inventor who lived from 1845 to 1919. He is credited with developing a process for the commercial production of synthetic indigo dye, which had a significant impact on the textile industry at the time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Linear

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

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

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

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