2000
#5,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,590
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.07
Rare Last name
Loeffler
An occupational surname referring to a spoon maker, derived from the German word "Löffel" meaning spoon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,549 Americans carry the last name Loeffler. That puts it at #5,834 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,337 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Loeffler 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
6.5K
1 in 52,337
Census rank
#5,834
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,711 bearers of the surname Loeffler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5834th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Loeffler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Loeffler
The surname Loeffler originated in Germany, specifically in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, during the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the German word "Löffel," which means "spoon," and may have been an occupational name for a maker or seller of spoons, or perhaps even a nickname for someone who had a particular fondness or association with spoons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Loeffler can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, dating back to 1389, where a certain Hans Loeffler is mentioned as a resident. In the 15th century, the name appears in various other German records, including those of Augsburg and Leipzig, suggesting its spread across different regions.
The Loeffler family name has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most prominent was Johann Loeffler, a German baroque composer who lived from 1615 to 1679 and served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden. His compositions, including sacred works and instrumental pieces, were highly regarded during his time.
Another notable Loeffler was Friedrich Loeffler, a German-American bacteriologist and pioneer in the field of microbiology, who was born in 1852 and died in 1915. He made significant contributions to the study of various infectious diseases, including diphtheria and glanders, and helped develop methods for isolating and identifying pathogenic bacteria.
In the literary world, the name Loeffler is associated with Siegfried Loeffler, a German poet and writer who lived from 1915 to 2004. He was known for his lyrical works and was awarded several prestigious literary prizes, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1965.
Another notable figure is Rolf Loeffler, a German soccer player and manager who was born in 1945. He played as a defender for several Bundesliga clubs, including Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt, and later went on to manage teams like Karlsruher SC and VfB Stuttgart.
Lastly, the name Loeffler has also been associated with places and locations in Germany. For instance, there is a town called Löffler in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which may have derived its name from the Loeffler family or their occupation as spoon makers or sellers in that region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loeffler
Among Census respondents with the surname Loeffler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Loeffler 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 Loeffler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 5,237
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 211
- Two or more races3.2% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 43
- Black or African American0.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Loeffler
Loeffler 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
#5,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,801
+211 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 246 places
2020
#5,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,711
-90 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.91
Rank movement Up 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,689 | 5,590 | 2.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,935 | 5,801 | 1.97 | +211 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 246 places |
| 2020 | #5,834 | 5,711 | 1.91 | -90 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 101 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 Loeffler 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 | #5,935 | #5,834 | 1.7% |
| Count | 5,801 | 5,711 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.97 | 1.91 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Loeffler bearers went from 5,801 to 5,711 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,935 to #5,834.
FAQ
Loeffler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Loeffler?
Name Census estimates that about 6,549 living Americans carry the surname Loeffler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,337 residents.
How common is Loeffler?
Loeffler ranks #5,834 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,711 people with the surname Loeffler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,549), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Loeffler.
Has Loeffler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Loeffler went from 5,801 recorded bearers to 5,711. That is a decrease of 90 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,935 to #5,834.
What does the Census say about the background of Loeffler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Loeffler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Loeffler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (5,237 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Loeffler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Loeffler (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 Loeffler mean?
An occupational surname referring to a spoon maker, derived from the German word "Löffel" meaning spoon. 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 Loeffler (1.91 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 common is the surname Loeffler?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Loeffler is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.