2000
#13,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,996
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Mendelsohn
Jewish surname derived from the given name Mendel, meaning "comforter" or "consoler" in Yiddish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,304 Americans carry the last name Mendelsohn. That puts it at #14,325 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,765 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mendelsohn 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mendelsohn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 148,765
Census rank
#14,325
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,009 bearers of the surname Mendelsohn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14325th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mendelsohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mendelsohn
The surname Mendelsohn has its origins in the Yiddish language and is derived from the Hebrew phrase "ben Mendel", meaning "son of Mendel". Mendel was a common given name among Ashkenazi Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in Germany and Russia.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Mendelsohn can be traced back to the 17th and 18th centuries in various regions of Germany and Poland, where large Jewish communities were established. The name likely evolved as a way to distinguish families and maintain lineage records within these communities.
One of the most notable historical figures with the surname Mendelsohn was the German-Jewish philosopher and theologian Moses Mendelsohn (1729-1786), who played a significant role in the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement. His writings and advocacy for religious tolerance and integration into broader European society had a profound impact on the intellectual landscape of his time.
Another prominent figure was the Russian-American biochemist Stanley Mendelsohn (1912-1997), who made significant contributions to the understanding of the biochemistry of cellular metabolism and the role of lipids in health and disease. His research paved the way for the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs and interventions for cardiovascular disease.
The name Mendelsohn can also be found in the records of early Jewish communities in various cities across Europe, such as the Memorbuch (memorial book) of the Jewish community in Frankfurt am Main, which dates back to the 16th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Mendelsohn include the American pediatrician Robert A. Mendelsohn (1926-1988), a vocal critic of many modern medical practices and a proponent of alternative medicine; and the German-British painter Lili Mendelsohn (1893-1976), whose works are held in collections worldwide.
Throughout history, variations in spelling and pronunciation of the surname Mendelsohn have emerged, including Mendelssohn, Mendelsohn, and Mendlsohn, reflecting the diverse linguistic and cultural influences on Jewish communities across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mendelsohn
Among Census respondents with the surname Mendelsohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Mendelsohn 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 Mendelsohn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 1,876
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 51
- Two or more races2.1% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 25
- Black or African American0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mendelsohn
Mendelsohn 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
#14,286
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,096
+100 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 405 places
2020
#14,325
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,009
-87 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,881 | 1,996 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,286 | 2,096 | 0.71 | +100 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 405 places |
| 2020 | #14,325 | 2,009 | 0.67 | -87 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 39 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 Mendelsohn 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 | #14,286 | #14,325 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,096 | 2,009 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.67 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mendelsohn bearers went from 2,096 to 2,009 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,286 to #14,325.
FAQ
Mendelsohn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mendelsohn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,304 living Americans carry the surname Mendelsohn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,765 residents.
How common is Mendelsohn?
Mendelsohn ranks #14,325 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,009 people with the surname Mendelsohn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,304), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Mendelsohn.
Has Mendelsohn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mendelsohn went from 2,096 recorded bearers to 2,009. That is a decrease of 87 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,286 to #14,325.
What does the Census say about the background of Mendelsohn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mendelsohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) 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 Mendelsohn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (1,876 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mendelsohn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (2.5%), 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 Mendelsohn (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 Mendelsohn mean?
Jewish surname derived from the given name Mendel, meaning "comforter" or "consoler" in Yiddish. 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 Mendelsohn (0.67 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 are called Mendelsohn?
See how common the surname Mendelsohn is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.