2000
#15,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,746
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Lowenstein
A German surname likely derived from a place name meaning "lion's den" or "lion's stone".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,704 Americans carry the last name Lowenstein. That puts it at #18,419 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 201,147 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lowenstein 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
1.7K
1 in 201,147
Census rank
#18,419
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,486 bearers of the surname Lowenstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18419th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lowenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lowenstein
The surname Lowenstein has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the German words "Lowen" meaning "lion" and "stein" meaning "stone", suggesting that the name may have referred to a person who lived near a rock formation resembling a lion.
Early records indicate that the name was initially spelled as "Löwenstein" and was associated with the town of the same name in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The town of Löwenstein dates back to the 12th century and was home to a prominent noble family that bore the Lowenstein name.
One of the earliest known references to the Lowenstein name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Salemitanus, a collection of documents from the Monastery of Salem in the Black Forest region, which mentions a "Conradus de Lewenstein" in the year 1268.
In the 14th century, the Lowenstein family gained prominence and held significant landholdings and titles in various regions of Germany. Notable figures from this period include Johann von Lowenstein (c.1320-1380), who served as a military commander and advisor to Emperor Charles IV, and Katharina von Lowenstein (c.1350-1420), a renowned abbess of the Klarissenkloster in Bamberg.
During the Renaissance era, the Lowenstein name continued to be associated with nobility and intellectual pursuits. One prominent individual was Johann Friedrich von Lowenstein (1557-1622), a humanist scholar and patron of the arts who corresponded with renowned thinkers of the time, including Johannes Kepler.
In the 18th century, the Lowenstein family expanded their influence beyond Germany. Karl Thomas von Lowenstein (1714-1781) was a military officer who served in the Prussian army and later became a field marshal in the service of the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great.
The 19th century saw the emergence of several notable figures with the Lowenstein surname, including the writer and political activist Ferdinand Lowenstein (1809-1880), who played a role in the revolutionary movements of 1848, and the industrialist Leopold Lowenstein (1842-1917), who founded the successful textile manufacturing company that still bears his name.
While the surname Lowenstein originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions across various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lowenstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Lowenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lowenstein 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 Lowenstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 1,336
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 76
- Two or more races2.8% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 26
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lowenstein
Lowenstein 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
#16,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,720
-26 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 1,239 places
2020
#18,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,486
-234 bearers (-13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.50
Rank movement Down 1,767 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,413 | 1,746 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,652 | 1,720 | 0.58 | -26 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 1,239 places |
| 2020 | #18,419 | 1,486 | 0.50 | -234 bearers (-13.6%) | Down 1,767 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 Lowenstein 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 | #16,652 | #18,419 | -10.6% |
| Count | 1,720 | 1,486 | -13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.50 | -14.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lowenstein bearers went from 1,720 to 1,486 (-13.6% change). The surname moved down 1,767 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,652 to #18,419.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lowenstein
FAQ
Lowenstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lowenstein?
Name Census estimates that about 1,704 living Americans carry the surname Lowenstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 201,147 residents.
How common is Lowenstein?
Lowenstein ranks #18,419 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.50 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 1,486 people with the surname Lowenstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,704), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.50 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 Lowenstein.
Has Lowenstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lowenstein went from 1,720 recorded bearers to 1,486. That is a decrease of 234 (-13.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,652 to #18,419.
What does the Census say about the background of Lowenstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lowenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Lowenstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (1,336 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lowenstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Lowenstein (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 Lowenstein mean?
A German surname likely derived from a place name meaning "lion's den" or "lion's stone". 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 Lowenstein (0.50 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 surname Lowenstein?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.