2000
#98,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 171
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Lueneburg
A German locational surname referring to someone from the town of Lüneburg.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 211 Americans carry the last name Lueneburg. That puts it at #103,857 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,624,428 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lueneburg 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
211
1 in 1,624,428
Census rank
#103,857
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
184
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 184 bearers of the surname Lueneburg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 103857th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lueneburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lueneburg
The surname Lueneburg has its origins in Germany, specifically in the town of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony. The name is derived from the Old Saxon words "lün" meaning "wooded hill" and "burg" meaning "fortified place" or "castle". This suggests that the name likely originated from someone who lived near or was associated with the fortified town of Lüneburg, which dates back to the 9th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Lueneburg can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Heinrich von Lueneburg, a nobleman who lived in the late 13th century and was mentioned in various records from the region.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Lüneburg town records, indicating that it was well-established as a local surname by that time. The town itself was an important center of salt production and trade in the Middle Ages, and it is likely that some Lueneburgs were involved in this industry.
During the 15th century, the name spread beyond the town of Lüneburg as people migrated to other parts of Germany and beyond. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Johann Lueneburg, a merchant and councilor in the city of Hamburg, who lived from around 1420 to 1490.
In the 16th century, the Lueneburg surname became more widely dispersed across Europe. Notable individuals from this time include Hans Lueneburg, a printer and publisher in Nuremberg who lived from around 1500 to 1570, and Martin Lueneburg, a Protestant reformer and theologian in Wittenberg, who lived from 1520 to 1584.
As the name spread, various spellings emerged, such as Lüneburg, Luneburg, Luneborg, and Luneburg. These variations reflected regional differences in language and dialect, as well as changes in spelling conventions over time.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lueneburg include Friedrich Lueneburg, a military officer in the Prussian army during the 18th century, and Karl Lueneburg, a German composer and organist who lived from 1785 to 1843.
While the surname Lueneburg has its roots in a specific town and region of Germany, it has since become dispersed across various countries and continents due to migration and cultural exchange over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lueneburg
Among Census respondents with the surname Lueneburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Lueneburg 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 Lueneburg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 184
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lueneburg
Lueneburg 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
#96,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 189
+18 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 1,930 places
2020
#103,857
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 184
-5 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 7,489 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #98,298 | 171 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #96,368 | 189 | 0.06 | +18 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 1,930 places |
| 2020 | #103,857 | 184 | 0.06 | -5 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 7,489 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 Lueneburg 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 | #96,368 | #103,857 | -7.8% |
| Count | 189 | 184 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | 2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lueneburg bearers went from 189 to 184 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 7,489 positions in the national ranking, going from #96,368 to #103,857.
FAQ
Lueneburg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lueneburg?
Name Census estimates that about 211 living Americans carry the surname Lueneburg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,624,428 residents.
How common is Lueneburg?
Lueneburg ranks #103,857 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 184 people with the surname Lueneburg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (211), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Lueneburg.
Has Lueneburg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lueneburg went from 189 recorded bearers to 184. That is a decrease of 5 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #96,368 to #103,857.
What does the Census say about the background of Lueneburg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lueneburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Lueneburg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (184 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lueneburg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Lueneburg (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 Lueneburg mean?
A German locational surname referring to someone from the town of Lüneburg. 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 Lueneburg (0.06 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 Lueneburg?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Lueneburg on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.