2000
#118,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Lothringer
An ethnic surname indicating origin from the Lorraine region of France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Lothringer. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lothringer 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Lothringer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lothringer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lothringer
The surname Lothringer originates from the Lorraine region of northeastern France, near the modern-day borders with Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The name can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 9th to 11th centuries.
Lothringer is derived from the Old German word "Lotharingia," which referred to the historic territory of Lorraine. This region was named after the Carolingian ruler Lothair II, who ruled the Middle Frankish Kingdom from 835 to 869 AD. The name Lotharingia eventually evolved into the modern French form "Lorraine."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Lothringer can be found in various medieval records and documents from the Lorraine region. One notable example is a reference to a knight named Renier de Lothringer in a 12th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Saint-Mihiel.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the records of the Duchy of Lorraine, where it was often associated with noble families and landowners. For instance, a certain Jean Lothringer was mentioned as a prominent landowner in the town of Vaudrevange in 1267.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Lothringer. One of the earliest was Johann Lothringer (c. 1420-1490), a German cleric and theologian who served as the Bishop of Metz from 1468 until his death.
Another prominent figure was Friedrich Lothringer (1609-1670), a German military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War. He rose to the rank of Field Marshal in the Imperial Army and played a crucial role in several battles against the Swedish and French forces.
In the 18th century, Charles-Alexandre Lothringer (1712-1780) was a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Collège Mazarin and the Church of Saint-Philippe-du-Roule.
The 19th century saw the birth of Émile Lothringer (1825-1892), a French chemist and industrialist who pioneered the production of artificial dyes and founded the Lothringen Chemical Company in Mulhouse.
Finally, in the 20th century, there was Marguerite Lothringer (1914-2001), a French writer and journalist who covered the Second World War and was known for her novels and memoirs depicting life in occupied France during that period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lothringer
Among Census respondents with the surname Lothringer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lothringer 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 Lothringer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 108
- Two or more races5.0% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lothringer
Lothringer 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-20 bearers (-14.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,913 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+4 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,100 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,236 | 136 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-14.7%) | Down 24,913 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.4%) | Up 1,100 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 Lothringer 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 | #143,149 | #142,049 | 0.8% |
| Count | 116 | 120 | 3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lothringer bearers went from 116 to 120 (+3.4% change). The surname moved up 1,100 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #142,049.
FAQ
Lothringer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lothringer?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Lothringer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Lothringer?
Lothringer ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Lothringer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Lothringer.
Has Lothringer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lothringer went from 116 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 4 (+3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #143,149 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Lothringer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lothringer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Lothringer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lothringer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (5.0%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Lothringer (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 Lothringer mean?
An ethnic surname indicating origin from the Lorraine region of France. 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 Lothringer (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 Lothringer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.