2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Luithle
A German surname derived from the Old High German words "liut" (people) and "lioht" (light), likely referring to someone with a bright or cheerful personality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Luithle. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luithle 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Luithle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luithle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luithle
The surname Luithle originated in the German regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old High German word "liuht," meaning light or bright, and the diminutive suffix "-le," indicating a small or diminutive form. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone with a bright or fair complexion, or perhaps someone who lived near a well-lit or illuminated area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Bavarian town records of Augsburg, where a certain "Hans Luithle" was mentioned as a local tradesman in the year 1487. Another early reference comes from the Baden-Württemberg region, where a "Konrad Luithle" was listed as a landowner in the village of Unterriexingen in 1523.
In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of Germany, as evidenced by the records of a "Georg Luithle" from Saxony, who served as a soldier in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). In the following century, a "Johannes Luithle" (1652-1721) was a noted theologian and author from the city of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg.
As the name continued to disperse across Germany and neighboring regions, it also evolved into various spelling variations, such as "Luithl," "Luittle," and "Lüthle." One notable bearer of the name was the 18th-century Prussian military officer and cartographer, Wilhelm Luithle (1701-1776), who played a significant role in mapping the territories of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Another prominent figure was the 19th-century German writer and poet, Friedrich Luithle (1801-1878), whose works focused on the themes of nature and rural life in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg. In the same era, a certain "Karl Luithle" (1824-1892) was a respected architect and designer of churches and public buildings in the city of Stuttgart.
Over the centuries, the Luithle surname has remained most prevalent in the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where it originated. However, due to migration and population movements, bearers of the name can now be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in other European countries and regions with significant German diasporas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luithle
Among Census respondents with the surname Luithle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Luithle 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 Luithle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 95
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luithle
Luithle 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+3 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,716 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 6,716 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 1,289 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 Luithle 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 | #156,044 | #154,755 | 0.8% |
| Count | 104 | 102 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luithle bearers went from 104 to 102 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 1,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #154,755.
FAQ
Luithle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luithle?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Luithle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Luithle?
Luithle ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Luithle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Luithle.
Has Luithle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luithle went from 104 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Luithle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luithle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Luithle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luithle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Black (2.0%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Luithle (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 Luithle mean?
A German surname derived from the Old High German words "liut" (people) and "lioht" (light), likely referring to someone with a bright or cheerful personality. 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 Luithle (0.03 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 Luithle?
See how common the surname Luithle is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.