2000
#27,945
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 808
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Rare Last name
Luthi
A Swiss German surname derived from the given name Leuthold.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,015 Americans carry the last name Luthi. That puts it at #28,625 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 337,689 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luthi 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
1.0K
1 in 337,689
Census rank
#28,625
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
885
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 885 bearers of the surname Luthi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 28625th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luthi, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luthi
The surname Luthi has its origins in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland and Germany. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "lut" meaning "bright" or "loud." The name was likely first used as a nickname or a descriptive name for someone who had a loud voice or a bright personality.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Luthi can be traced back to the 13th century in various Swiss and German records. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Hans Luthi, a farmer from the village of Sumiswald in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, who was mentioned in a land registry document from 1287.
In the 15th century, the name Luthi appeared in the Habsburger Urbar, a medieval cadastral survey of landholdings and properties in the region of present-day Switzerland and southern Germany. This document included references to several families with the surname Luthi, indicating their presence in various Swiss and German towns and villages.
Over the centuries, the name Luthi has been spelled in various ways, including Lüthi, Luthy, Lüthy, and Lüthi, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and orthography. Some notable individuals with this surname include:
1. Johann Lüthi (1750-1828), a Swiss farmer and politician from the canton of Bern, who served as a member of the Bernese Council of Two Hundred.
2. Johann Rudolf Lüthi (1796-1853), a Swiss painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits.
3. Hans Lüthi (1909-1988), a renowned Swiss literary scholar and professor of German literature at the University of Zurich.
4. Max Lüthi (1920-1991), a Swiss folklorist and scholar of fairy tales and folk narratives, who taught at the University of Zurich.
5. Renate Lüthi (born 1950), a Swiss author and playwright known for her plays and novels exploring social and political issues.
While the surname Luthi is predominantly found in Switzerland and Germany, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luthi
Among Census respondents with the surname Luthi, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Luthi 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 Luthi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 825
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 26
- Two or more races2.1% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 9
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luthi
Luthi 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
#27,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 861
+53 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Up 76 places
2020
#28,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 885
+24 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.30
Rank movement Down 756 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,945 | 808 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,869 | 861 | 0.29 | +53 bearers (+6.6%) | Up 76 places |
| 2020 | #28,625 | 885 | 0.30 | +24 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 756 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 Luthi 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 | #27,869 | #28,625 | -2.7% |
| Count | 861 | 885 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.29 | 0.30 | 2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luthi bearers went from 861 to 885 (+2.8% change). The surname moved down 756 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,869 to #28,625.
FAQ
Luthi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luthi?
Name Census estimates that about 1,015 living Americans carry the surname Luthi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 337,689 residents.
How common is Luthi?
Luthi ranks #28,625 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.30 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 885 people with the surname Luthi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,015), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.30 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 Luthi.
Has Luthi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luthi went from 861 recorded bearers to 885. That is an increase of 24 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #27,869 to #28,625.
What does the Census say about the background of Luthi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luthi, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Luthi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (825 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luthi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Luthi (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 Luthi mean?
A Swiss German surname derived from the given name Leuthold. 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 Luthi (0.30 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 share the surname Luthi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.