2000
#9,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,280
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Lingenfelter
One who comes from Lingenfeld, a place in Germany, or dwells near a long field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,502 Americans carry the last name Lingenfelter. That puts it at #10,061 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lingenfelter 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
3.5K
1 in 97,874
Census rank
#10,061
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,054 bearers of the surname Lingenfelter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10061st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lingenfelter, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lingenfelter
The surname Lingenfelter is of German origin, believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century. It is derived from the German words "lingen" meaning "length" or "long," and "felter" referring to a field or clearing. Together, "Lingenfelter" likely referred to a long or elongated field or clearing.
The earliest known records of the Lingenfelter name can be traced back to the region of Saxony in modern-day eastern Germany. It is thought to have originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or owned a particularly long or narrow field or clearing. This was a common practice in medieval times, with surnames often reflecting geographic features, occupations, or personal characteristics.
One of the earliest known references to the Lingenfelter name appears in the municipal records of the town of Torgau, Saxony, in the year 1512. The record mentions a "Hans Lingenfelter" as a landowner and farmer in the area. Additionally, the name is found in various church records and tax rolls from the 16th and 17th centuries in the broader Saxony region.
In the 18th century, the Lingenfelter surname began to spread beyond Saxony as families migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. Notable individuals with the surname include Johann Lingenfelter (1732-1807), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Nuremberg, and Anna Lingenfelter (1765-1842), a renowned writer and poet from the town of Weimar.
As German immigration to North America increased in the 19th century, the Lingenfelter name was carried across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded instances in the United States is that of Christian Lingenfelter (1789-1865), who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. His descendants later spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern regions.
Other notable individuals with the Lingenfelter surname include:
1. Johann Georg Lingenfelter (1811-1887), a German-American farmer and pioneer in the state of Wisconsin.
2. Maria Lingenfelter (1832-1909), a celebrated educator and advocate for women's rights in New York.
3. William Lingenfelter (1868-1942), an influential businessman and philanthropist in Detroit, Michigan.
4. Otto Lingenfelter (1892-1973), a renowned engineer and inventor known for his contributions to the automotive industry.
5. Kara Lingenfelter (born 1978), an accomplished author and journalist based in California.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lingenfelter
Among Census respondents with the surname Lingenfelter, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lingenfelter 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 Lingenfelter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,829
- Two or more races3.2% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 75
- Black or African American0.7% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lingenfelter
Lingenfelter 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
#9,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,491
+211 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 185 places
2020
#10,061
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,054
-437 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 731 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,145 | 3,280 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,330 | 3,491 | 1.18 | +211 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 185 places |
| 2020 | #10,061 | 3,054 | 1.02 | -437 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 731 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 Lingenfelter 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 | #9,330 | #10,061 | -7.8% |
| Count | 3,491 | 3,054 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.18 | 1.02 | -13.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lingenfelter bearers went from 3,491 to 3,054 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 731 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,330 to #10,061.
FAQ
Lingenfelter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lingenfelter?
Name Census estimates that about 3,502 living Americans carry the surname Lingenfelter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,874 residents.
How common is Lingenfelter?
Lingenfelter ranks #10,061 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,054 people with the surname Lingenfelter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,502), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lingenfelter.
Has Lingenfelter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lingenfelter went from 3,491 recorded bearers to 3,054. That is a decrease of 437 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,330 to #10,061.
What does the Census say about the background of Lingenfelter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lingenfelter, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Lingenfelter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,829 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lingenfelter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Lingenfelter (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 Lingenfelter mean?
One who comes from Lingenfeld, a place in Germany, or dwells near a long field. 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 Lingenfelter (1.02 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 have the last name Lingenfelter?
If you just want to know how common the surname Lingenfelter is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.