2000
#30,199
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 732
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.27
Very Rare Last name
Luckenbill
A surname derived from a German place name referring to a small brook or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 788 Americans carry the last name Luckenbill. That puts it at #35,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 434,967 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luckenbill 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
788
1 in 434,967
Census rank
#35,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
687
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 687 bearers of the surname Luckenbill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luckenbill, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luckenbill
The surname LUCKENBILL is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 14th century in the region of Bavaria. The name is believed to have derived from the German word "lücken," meaning "gap" or "opening," possibly referring to a location or settlement situated near a gap in a mountain range or a pass through a hilly area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LUCKENBILL name can be found in the Bavarian town records from the late 1300s, where a certain Hans Luckenbill was mentioned as a landowner and farmer. The name's spelling variations during that time included Luckenbille, Luckenbylle, and Luckenbühl.
In the 16th century, the LUCKENBILL family spread across various parts of southern Germany, with some members settling in the Rhine Valley region. Historical documents from this period mention a Johann Luckenbill, a skilled craftsman and woodcarver born in Heidelberg in 1542.
As the surname migrated northward, it found its way into the records of Hanseatic cities like Hamburg and Bremen, where a merchant named Christoph LUCKENBILL, born in 1612, is noted for his successful trading ventures with the Dutch East Indies Company.
The name LUCKENBILL gained further prominence in the 18th century when a German-born American scholar and archaeologist, Daniel David LUCKENBILL (1881-1927), made significant contributions to the study of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. His pioneering work in deciphering and translating cuneiform inscriptions from Assyrian and Babylonian ruins shed light on the history and culture of these ancient empires.
Another notable figure bearing the LUCKENBILL surname was Otto LUCKENBILL (1868-1937), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the steel industry. He was a prominent supporter of educational and cultural institutions in his adopted city of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In the early 20th century, the LUCKENBILL name found its way into the realm of aviation with the accomplishments of pilot and aircraft designer William LUCKENBILL (1892-1976). His innovative designs and contributions to the development of early military aircraft earned him recognition in the annals of aviation history.
While the LUCKENBILL surname may have its origins in a specific German region, it has since spread across various parts of the world, carried by generations of families and individuals who have left their mark in diverse fields and endeavors.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luckenbill
Among Census respondents with the surname Luckenbill, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Luckenbill 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 Luckenbill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 642
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 25
- Two or more races2.5% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luckenbill
Luckenbill 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
#31,251
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 742
+10 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Down 1,052 places
2020
#35,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 687
-55 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 4,058 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #30,199 | 732 | 0.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31,251 | 742 | 0.25 | +10 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 1,052 places |
| 2020 | #35,309 | 687 | 0.23 | -55 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 4,058 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 Luckenbill 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 | #31,251 | #35,309 | -13.0% |
| Count | 742 | 687 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.25 | 0.23 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luckenbill bearers went from 742 to 687 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 4,058 positions in the national ranking, going from #31,251 to #35,309.
FAQ
Luckenbill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luckenbill?
Name Census estimates that about 788 living Americans carry the surname Luckenbill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 434,967 residents.
How common is Luckenbill?
Luckenbill ranks #35,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 687 people with the surname Luckenbill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (788), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Luckenbill.
Has Luckenbill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luckenbill went from 742 recorded bearers to 687. That is a decrease of 55 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #31,251 to #35,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Luckenbill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luckenbill, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (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 Luckenbill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (642 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luckenbill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (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 Luckenbill (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 Luckenbill mean?
A surname derived from a German place name referring to a small brook or stream. 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 Luckenbill (0.23 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 Luckenbill?
Find out how many people have the surname Luckenbill on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.