Find out how popular the last name Lustig is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lustig.

Lustig, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lustig surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lustig in America

Lustig is the 12164th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lustig surname appeared 2,562 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Lustig.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lustig to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lustig

The surname Lustig originated in Germany in the late Middle Ages, emerging around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "lustic," meaning "pleasant" or "cheerful." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a jovial or merry disposition.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Lustig can be found in various German records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. For example, a Johann Lustig is mentioned in a 1468 registry from the town of Erfurt in Thuringia. Another early reference is to a Claus Lustig, who appears in a 1492 tax record from Nuremberg.

In some regions, the name may have evolved from or been influenced by similar-sounding place names, such as the town of Lustnau in Baden-Württemberg or the village of Lüstnitz in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. However, the direct connection between the surname and these place names is not entirely clear.

Over the centuries, the name Lustig has been borne by several notable individuals, including Johann Lustig (1615-1682), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels. Another was Johann Lustig (1722-1780), a German Protestant theologian and author.

In the 19th century, Anton Lustig (1786-1859) was an Austrian operatic tenor who performed at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. Around the same time, Rudolf Lustig (1841-1888) was a German architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank and the Börse.

One of the most famous bearers of the name was Arnošt Lustig (1926-2011), a renowned Czech writer and Holocaust survivor whose works explored the experiences of Jews during World War II. His notable novels include "Night and Hope" and "Dita Saxová."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lustig

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lustig.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lustig was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lustig has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lustig was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lustig, please contact us.

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