2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Meifert
A surname derived from the Middle Low German "meiger" meaning mayor or official.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Meifert. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meifert 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Meifert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meifert, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meifert
The surname Meifert is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old High German words "meien" and "furt," which together mean "meadow ford" or "crossing of the meadow." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a ford or crossing located in a meadow area.
In the 17th century, the name Meifert appeared in several historical records, including church registers and tax rolls, in various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria and Saxony. One notable mention is found in the 1628 baptismal records of St. Michael's Church in Nuremberg, where a child named Hans Meifert was baptized.
The earliest known bearer of the name Meifert was Johann Meifert, born in 1542 in the town of Freiberg, Saxony. He was a skilled metalworker and is recorded as having crafted intricate decorative metalwork for the local church and several noble households in the region.
In the 18th century, the Meifert name spread beyond Germany, with instances of the name appearing in records from neighboring countries such as Austria and Switzerland. One notable figure from this period was Hans Georg Meifert, born in 1712 in Bamberg, Germany. He was a renowned clockmaker whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the nobility of the time.
Another notable bearer of the Meifert name was Katharina Meifert, born in 1789 in Augsburg, Germany. She was a renowned author and poet, known for her romantic poetry and her advocacy for women's education and rights during the early 19th century.
In the 19th century, the Meifert name began to appear in records from other parts of Europe, as well as in North America, as some individuals with this surname immigrated to new lands. One such individual was Friedrich Meifert, born in 1832 in Saxony, who immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and became a successful farmer in the state of Illinois.
Throughout history, the surname Meifert has been associated with various occupations and fields, including metalworking, clockmaking, literature, and agriculture. While the name may have originated from a specific geographic location or occupation in medieval Germany, it has since spread across the globe and taken on new meanings and associations over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meifert
Among Census respondents with the surname Meifert, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Meifert 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 Meifert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meifert
Meifert appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-8 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,786 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 7,786 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 Meifert 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 | #143,149 | #150,935 | -5.4% |
| Count | 116 | 108 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meifert bearers went from 116 to 108 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 7,786 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #150,935.
FAQ
Meifert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meifert?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Meifert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Meifert?
Meifert ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 108 people with the surname Meifert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Meifert.
Has Meifert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meifert went from 116 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Meifert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meifert, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Meifert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meifert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Meifert (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 Meifert mean?
A surname derived from the Middle Low German "meiger" meaning mayor or official. 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 Meifert (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Meifert?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.