2000
#12,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,310
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Longenecker
An occupational surname referring to a person who manufactured longbows or worked as an archery bowyer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,645 Americans carry the last name Longenecker. That puts it at #12,767 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,586 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Longenecker 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
2.6K
1 in 129,586
Census rank
#12,767
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,307 bearers of the surname Longenecker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12767th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Longenecker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Longenecker
The surname Longenecker is of German origin, and it is believed to have originated in the 16th century. The name is derived from the German words "lang" meaning long and "ecker" meaning field or acre. It is thought to have been an occupational name given to someone who worked on a long field or farmed a particularly elongated plot of land.
The earliest recorded instances of the Longenecker name can be found in various German church records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable early reference is in the baptismal records of St. Peter's Church in Solingen, Germany, where a Hans Longenecker is mentioned in 1587.
In the 18th century, many Longeneckers immigrated to the United States, particularly to Pennsylvania, where they settled in areas like Lancaster County and Berks County. One of the earliest Longeneckers in America was Jacob Longenecker, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1733.
Over the centuries, the Longenecker surname has been spelled in various ways, including Longnecker, Langnecker, and Longeniker. Some of these variations may have been influenced by regional dialects or changes in pronunciation over time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the Longenecker surname. One of the earliest was Christian Longenecker (1709-1786), a prominent Mennonite minister and farmer in Pennsylvania. Another was Jacob Longenecker (1837-1903), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and later a member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature.
Other notable Longeneckers include Justin W. Longenecker (1854-1934), a successful businessman and banker in Pennsylvania, and Nellie Longenecker (1870-1965), an American teacher and author of children's books. More recently, there was Ralph N. Longenecker (1920-2004), a New Testament scholar and author of several books on the life and teachings of the Apostle Paul.
While the Longenecker name may have originated as an occupational surname in Germany, it has since become well-established in various parts of the world, particularly in North America, where many descendants of the early German immigrants have made significant contributions to their communities and professions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Longenecker
Among Census respondents with the surname Longenecker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Longenecker 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 Longenecker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 2,157
- Two or more races3.1% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Longenecker
Longenecker 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
#11,709
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,677
+367 bearers (+15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Up 631 places
2020
#12,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,307
-370 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 1,058 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,340 | 2,310 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,709 | 2,677 | 0.91 | +367 bearers (+15.9%) | Up 631 places |
| 2020 | #12,767 | 2,307 | 0.77 | -370 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,058 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 Longenecker 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 | #11,709 | #12,767 | -9.0% |
| Count | 2,677 | 2,307 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.77 | -15.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Longenecker bearers went from 2,677 to 2,307 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,058 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,709 to #12,767.
FAQ
Longenecker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Longenecker?
Name Census estimates that about 2,645 living Americans carry the surname Longenecker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,586 residents.
How common is Longenecker?
Longenecker ranks #12,767 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,307 people with the surname Longenecker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,645), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Longenecker.
Has Longenecker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Longenecker went from 2,677 recorded bearers to 2,307. That is a decrease of 370 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,709 to #12,767.
What does the Census say about the background of Longenecker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Longenecker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Longenecker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (2,157 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Longenecker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Longenecker (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 Longenecker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who manufactured longbows or worked as an archery bowyer. 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 Longenecker (0.77 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 Longenecker?
You can see how many people are called Longenecker on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.