2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Listenberger
A geographic surname referring to someone from an area with linden trees or a linden tree forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Listenberger. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Listenberger 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Listenberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Listenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Listenberger
The surname Listenberger has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be derived from a place name, possibly a locational surname referring to a specific town or village called Listenberg. This place name itself likely originated from the German words "liste" (meaning border or boundary) and "berg" (meaning mountain or hill), suggesting that the name may have referred to a settlement situated on a border or boundary near a hill or mountain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Listenberger can be found in a document from the city of Augsburg, dated around 1420, which mentions a certain "Hans Listenberger." This suggests that the name was already established in parts of southern Germany by the early 15th century. In the following centuries, the name appears in various historical records across different regions of Germany, indicating its widespread use.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Listenberger can be found in the records of several German cities and towns, such as Nuremberg, Cologne, and Frankfurt. This period also saw the emergence of several notable individuals bearing the name Listenberger, including Johann Listenberger (1565-1629), a German theologian and author who served as a Protestant minister in Regensburg.
In the late 18th century, a branch of the Listenberger family migrated to the Alsace region of France, where the name was sometimes spelled as "Listemberger" or "Listemberger." This variation in spelling was not uncommon, as surnames were often adapted to local dialects and pronunciation patterns.
One of the most prominent figures with the surname Listenberger was Carl Friedrich von Listenberger (1768-1842), a Prussian military officer and diplomat who served as the Prussian ambassador to St. Petersburg in the early 19th century. Another notable individual was Wilhelm Listenberger (1834-1901), a German educator and writer who published several works on pedagogy and educational theory.
As the centuries progressed, the name Listenberger continued to be found throughout various parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like Switzerland and Austria, where German-speaking communities were present. Some examples of individuals with this surname include Johann Listenberger (1808-1876), a Swiss painter and lithographer known for his landscape works, and Ernst Listenberger (1880-1945), a German architect and urban planner who contributed to the design of several public buildings in Berlin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Listenberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Listenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Listenberger 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 Listenberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 105
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Listenberger
Listenberger 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+7 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,336 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-5 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,992 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 2,336 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 3,992 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 Listenberger 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 | #148,347 | #152,339 | -2.7% |
| Count | 111 | 106 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Listenberger bearers went from 111 to 106 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 3,992 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #152,339.
FAQ
Listenberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Listenberger?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Listenberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Listenberger?
Listenberger ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Listenberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Listenberger.
Has Listenberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Listenberger went from 111 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Listenberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Listenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Listenberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Listenberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Listenberger (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 Listenberger mean?
A geographic surname referring to someone from an area with linden trees or a linden tree forest. 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 Listenberger (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Listenberger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.