2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Loeffelbein
A German surname literally meaning "spoon leg".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Loeffelbein. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Loeffelbein 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Loeffelbein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Loeffelbein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Loeffelbein
The surname LOEFFELBEIN has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive name, derived from the German words "Löffel" meaning "spoon" and "Bein" meaning "leg," possibly referring to someone with a leg deformity or gait resembling a spoon.
The earliest known mention of the LOEFFELBEIN name was in the town of Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, in a document from 1568. The name also appeared in church records from the nearby town of Torgau in the late 16th century, suggesting it was relatively common in the region during that time period.
In the 17th century, the LOEFFELBEIN name was found in various records from cities in central and eastern Germany, such as Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin. One notable bearer of the name was Hans LOEFFELBEIN, a merchant from Leipzig who was documented in city records from 1612 to 1639.
As people began to migrate further afield, the LOEFFELBEIN name spread to other parts of Europe and eventually further abroad. In the 18th century, the name appeared in records from the Rhineland region of Germany, as well as in Austria and Switzerland.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name outside of Germany was in the Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. A man named Johann LOEFFELBEIN was listed as a resident of the colony in a census from 1732.
Moving into the 19th century, there were several notable individuals with the LOEFFELBEIN surname. Friedrich LOEFFELBEIN (1803-1871) was a German philosopher and writer from Berlin who published works on ethics and political theory. In the United States, Carl LOEFFELBEIN (1837-1911) was a German-American brewer and businessman who founded the LOEFFELBEIN Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Other historical figures with the LOEFFELBEIN name include Johanna LOEFFELBEIN (1816-1892), a German educator and advocate for women's rights, and Wilhelm LOEFFELBEIN (1869-1945), a German military officer who served in World War I.
While the LOEFFELBEIN name is not among the most common surnames, it has a long and varied history, with bearers scattered across Europe, the Americas, and beyond over the past few centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loeffelbein
Among Census respondents with the surname Loeffelbein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Loeffelbein 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 Loeffelbein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 99
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Loeffelbein
Loeffelbein 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-5 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,854 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-6 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,715 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 13,854 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 5,715 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 Loeffelbein 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 | #145,220 | #150,935 | -3.9% |
| Count | 114 | 108 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Loeffelbein bearers went from 114 to 108 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 5,715 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #150,935.
FAQ
Loeffelbein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Loeffelbein?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Loeffelbein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Loeffelbein?
Loeffelbein ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Loeffelbein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Loeffelbein.
Has Loeffelbein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Loeffelbein went from 114 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Loeffelbein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Loeffelbein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Loeffelbein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Loeffelbein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Loeffelbein (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 Loeffelbein mean?
A German surname literally meaning "spoon leg". 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 Loeffelbein (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 people have the last name Loeffelbein?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Loeffelbein, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.