2000
#11,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,571
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Luft
A German occupational surname denoting a person who lived by an open area or clearing in a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,827 Americans carry the last name Luft. That puts it at #12,080 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,243 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luft 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
2.8K
1 in 121,243
Census rank
#12,080
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,465 bearers of the surname Luft in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12080th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luft, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luft
The surname LUFT is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "luft" meaning "air" or "sky." This name was likely first used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived in a high or airy location.
The earliest recorded instances of the name LUFT date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. In the Codex Diplomatics Saxoniae Regiae, a document from 1285, there is a record of a person named "Henricus Luft" from the town of Bautzen in Saxony.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Stadtbuch von Augsburg, a city record book from Augsburg, Bavaria, where a "Hans Luft" is mentioned in an entry from 1312.
The name LUFT was also present in other parts of Germany during the Middle Ages. In the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Hildesheim, a collection of documents from the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, there is a record of a "Conradus Luft" from 1341.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Luft, a German scholar and theologian born in Hessen in 1501. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several works on theology.
Another notable person with the surname LUFT was Johann Friedrich Luft, a German poet and writer born in Saxony in 1671. He was known for his satirical works and was a member of the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, a prestigious literary society of the time.
In the 17th century, the name LUFT also appeared in various place names across Germany, such as Luftkurort (air resort), Luftberg (air mountain), and Luftau (air meadow), reflecting the meaning of the name.
The surname LUFT can also be found in other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Switzerland, likely due to migration from Germany over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luft
Among Census respondents with the surname Luft, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Luft 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 Luft surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,255
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 89
- Two or more races3.0% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 30
- Black or African American0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luft
Luft 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
#12,218
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,548
-23 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 935 places
2020
#12,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,465
-83 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,283 | 2,571 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,218 | 2,548 | 0.86 | -23 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 935 places |
| 2020 | #12,080 | 2,465 | 0.82 | -83 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 138 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 Luft 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 | #12,218 | #12,080 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,548 | 2,465 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.82 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luft bearers went from 2,548 to 2,465 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,218 to #12,080.
FAQ
Luft surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luft?
Name Census estimates that about 2,827 living Americans carry the surname Luft. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,243 residents.
How common is Luft?
Luft ranks #12,080 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 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 2,465 people with the surname Luft. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,827), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 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 Luft.
Has Luft become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luft went from 2,548 recorded bearers to 2,465. That is a decrease of 83 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,218 to #12,080.
What does the Census say about the background of Luft?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luft, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Luft in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,255 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luft appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Luft (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 Luft mean?
A German occupational surname denoting a person who lived by an open area or clearing in a forest. 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 Luft (0.82 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 last name Luft?
You can see how many people have the last name Luft on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.