2000
#13,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,024
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Loar
A surname of German origin, derived from a place name meaning "clearing" or "open space" in a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,175 Americans carry the last name Loar. That puts it at #14,959 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,588 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Loar 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
2.2K
1 in 157,588
Census rank
#14,959
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,897 bearers of the surname Loar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14959th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Loar, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Loar
The surname LOAR is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "loar," which means "empty" or "barren." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in a sparsely populated or desolate area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LOAR surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Rhineland region of Germany. In a document dated 1287, a certain "Johannes Loar" is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Boppard.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name LOAR appeared in various records and manuscripts throughout the German states, particularly in the areas of Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. It is likely that the name spread to other parts of Europe as individuals with this surname migrated or traveled.
In the early 16th century, a man named Hans LOAR (1490-1564) gained recognition as a prominent Lutheran theologian and reformer in the city of Nuremberg. His writings and sermons played a significant role in the spread of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Another notable figure with the LOAR surname was Johann LOAR (1633-1712), a German composer and organist who served at various churches in the city of Hamburg. His works include numerous sacred and secular compositions, many of which have been preserved and studied by music scholars.
In the 19th century, a German-American family with the surname LOAR settled in the state of Pennsylvania. One of their descendants, Alvin LOAR (1855-1924), became a renowned luthier and is credited with pioneering the design of the modern archtop guitar.
Other individuals with the LOAR surname who have left their mark on history include Hans LOAR (1898-1976), a German businessman and industrialist who played a significant role in the reconstruction efforts after World War II, and Elise LOAR (1912-2000), a German-Swiss artist known for her abstract expressionist paintings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loar
Among Census respondents with the surname Loar, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Loar 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 Loar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 1,694
- Two or more races4.7% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 59
- Black or African American1.7% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Loar
Loar 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
#14,233
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,107
+83 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 502 places
2020
#14,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,897
-210 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 726 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,731 | 2,024 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,233 | 2,107 | 0.71 | +83 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 502 places |
| 2020 | #14,959 | 1,897 | 0.63 | -210 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 726 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 Loar 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 | #14,233 | #14,959 | -5.1% |
| Count | 2,107 | 1,897 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.63 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Loar bearers went from 2,107 to 1,897 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 726 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,233 to #14,959.
FAQ
Loar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Loar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,175 living Americans carry the surname Loar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,588 residents.
How common is Loar?
Loar ranks #14,959 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,897 people with the surname Loar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Loar.
Has Loar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Loar went from 2,107 recorded bearers to 1,897. That is a decrease of 210 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,233 to #14,959.
What does the Census say about the background of Loar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Loar, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Loar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (1,694 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Loar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Loar (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 Loar mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from a place name meaning "clearing" or "open space" in a 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 Loar (0.63 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 Loar?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.