2000
#15,046
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,799
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Lucht
A surname with origins in German and Dutch meaning "air" or "sky".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,952 Americans carry the last name Lucht. That puts it at #16,399 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 175,591 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lucht 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
2.0K
1 in 175,591
Census rank
#16,399
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,702 bearers of the surname Lucht in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16399th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lucht, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lucht
The surname Lucht has its origins in Germany, with records of the name dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "lucht," which means "light" or "open space." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who lived in a clearing or open area, perhaps on the edge of a forest or village.
One of the earliest known references to the Lucht name can be found in the church records of the town of Hesse, Germany, where a man named Hans Lucht was documented in 1548. There are also records of a family with the surname Lucht residing in the town of Saxony in the late 16th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lucht name began to spread across various regions of Germany, with families settling in areas such as Bavaria, Rhineland, and Westphalia. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Lucht (1624-1689), a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Saxony, and Katharina Lucht (1738-1816), a renowned weaver and entrepreneur from Hesse.
As the name continued to disperse throughout Europe, it underwent slight variations in spelling, such as Luchte, Luchter, and Luchter. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciation.
One of the most well-known bearers of the Lucht name was August Lucht (1875-1942), a German politician and member of the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic. He was a vocal critic of the Nazi regime and was eventually imprisoned in a concentration camp.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lucht include:
1. Friedrich Lucht (1806-1878), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and portraits.
2. Else Lucht (1876-1944), a German writer and poet who published several collections of poetry and short stories.
3. Hans Lucht (1914-1992), a German film director and screenwriter who worked in both Germany and Hollywood.
4. Werner Lucht (1920-2005), a German physicist and researcher who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear fusion.
5. Dietrich Lucht (1941-present), a German composer and conductor known for his works in contemporary classical music.
While the Lucht surname has its roots firmly planted in German history, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and immigration. Today, it can be found in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lucht
Among Census respondents with the surname Lucht, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lucht 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 Lucht surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 1,585
- Two or more races2.6% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 38
- Black or African American0.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lucht
Lucht 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
#15,508
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,887
+88 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 462 places
2020
#16,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,702
-185 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 891 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,046 | 1,799 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,508 | 1,887 | 0.64 | +88 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 462 places |
| 2020 | #16,399 | 1,702 | 0.57 | -185 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 891 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 Lucht 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 | #15,508 | #16,399 | -5.7% |
| Count | 1,887 | 1,702 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.57 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lucht bearers went from 1,887 to 1,702 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 891 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,508 to #16,399.
FAQ
Lucht surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lucht?
Name Census estimates that about 1,952 living Americans carry the surname Lucht. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 175,591 residents.
How common is Lucht?
Lucht ranks #16,399 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.57 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 1,702 people with the surname Lucht. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,952), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.57 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 Lucht.
Has Lucht become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lucht went from 1,887 recorded bearers to 1,702. That is a decrease of 185 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,508 to #16,399.
What does the Census say about the background of Lucht?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lucht, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) 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 Lucht in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (1,585 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lucht appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%), 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 Lucht (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 Lucht mean?
A surname with origins in German and Dutch meaning "air" or "sky". 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 Lucht (0.57 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 Lucht?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.