2000
#14,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,869
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Lybarger
A German occupational surname referring to a person who tans leather or a leather worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,099 Americans carry the last name Lybarger. That puts it at #15,430 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lybarger 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
2.1K
1 in 163,294
Census rank
#15,430
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,830 bearers of the surname Lybarger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15430th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lybarger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lybarger
The surname LYBARGER is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the German word "Liebhart," which means "dear brave one." The name may have initially referred to a courageous or valiant person, perhaps a knight or soldier.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a man named Liebhart von Augsburg was mentioned in a chronicle from the city of Augsburg, located in modern-day Bavaria, Germany. The name was likely anglicized to LYBARGER when German families immigrated to English-speaking countries.
In the 16th century, the LYBARGER name appeared in church records from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a well-preserved medieval town in Bavaria. A notable figure from this time was Hans LYBARGER, a prominent merchant who lived from 1521 to 1589.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name spread across various regions of Germany, with variations in spelling such as LIEBHART, LIEBERGER, and LYBÄRGER appearing in local records. One individual of note was Johann LYBARGER (1672-1743), a Lutheran pastor who served in the town of Heilbronn.
As German immigrants began settling in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the LYBARGER name was carried across the Atlantic. One of the earliest documented instances of the name in America was Johann LYBARGER, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749 from the Palatinate region of Germany.
Another prominent figure was Wilhelm LYBARGER (1810-1891), a German-American author and journalist who was born in Württemberg, Germany, and later emigrated to the United States. He founded the German-language newspaper "Der Deutsche Pionier" and wrote several books on German immigration to America.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the LYBARGER name continued to appear in various regions of the United States, with families settling in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Notable individuals from this period include Henry LYBARGER (1836-1919), a Union soldier during the American Civil War, and Mary LYBARGER (1867-1945), a renowned educator and advocate for women's rights in Indiana.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lybarger
Among Census respondents with the surname Lybarger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lybarger 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 Lybarger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 1,631
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 92
- Two or more races4.0% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lybarger
Lybarger 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
#14,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,970
+101 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 391 places
2020
#15,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,830
-140 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 435 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,604 | 1,869 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,995 | 1,970 | 0.67 | +101 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 391 places |
| 2020 | #15,430 | 1,830 | 0.61 | -140 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 435 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 Lybarger 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 | #14,995 | #15,430 | -2.9% |
| Count | 1,970 | 1,830 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.61 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lybarger bearers went from 1,970 to 1,830 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 435 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,995 to #15,430.
FAQ
Lybarger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lybarger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,099 living Americans carry the surname Lybarger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,294 residents.
How common is Lybarger?
Lybarger ranks #15,430 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,830 people with the surname Lybarger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,099), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Lybarger.
Has Lybarger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lybarger went from 1,970 recorded bearers to 1,830. That is a decrease of 140 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,995 to #15,430.
What does the Census say about the background of Lybarger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lybarger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Lybarger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (1,631 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lybarger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Lybarger (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 Lybarger mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who tans leather or a leather worker. 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 Lybarger (0.61 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 surname Lybarger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.