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

Lingerfelt, 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 Lingerfelt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lingerfelt in America

Lingerfelt is the 12994th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lingerfelt surname appeared 2,363 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Lingerfelt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lingerfelt 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 Lingerfelt

The surname Lingerfelt originates from the German regions of Bavaria and Saxony during the late medieval period, around the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German words "linger" meaning "to linger or tarry" and "felt" meaning "field" or "clearing." This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a meadow or open area where people would linger or gather.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lingerfelt can be found in a land registry from the town of Nuremberg, dated 1427, which mentions a "Hans Lingerfelt" as a landowner. Another early reference is in a church record from the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1489, which lists the christening of a child named "Greta Lingerfelt."

In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire, with records showing Lingerfelts in cities like Cologne, Frankfurt, and Augsburg. One notable figure from this time was Johann Lingerfelt (1524-1587), a Protestant theologian and author who published several influential works on religious reform.

As the Lingerfelt name continued to disperse, it also began to adopt various spellings such as Lingerfeldt, Lingerfeld, and Lingerfelt. In the 17th century, a branch of the family migrated to the Netherlands, where they became known as the Lingervelt or Lingerveld family.

Another noteworthy individual was Hans Lingerfelt (1632-1697), a German military officer who served in the Thirty Years' War and later became a prominent landowner in the region of Saxony. His grandson, Wilhelm Lingerfelt (1674-1738), was a respected jurist and author of several legal treatises.

By the 18th century, the Lingerfelt name had spread to other European countries, including France, where it was recorded as Lingerfelte or Lingerfelte. One of the earliest French Lingerfelts was Pierre Lingerfelte (1712-1789), a merchant and ship owner from the port city of Marseille.

As time progressed, many Lingerfelts immigrated to the Americas, with some settling in the United States and others in Canada. One of the earliest known Lingerfelts in North America was Johann Lingerfelt (1732-1812), a German immigrant who arrived in Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s and later fought in the American Revolutionary War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lingerfelt

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

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

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

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