2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Meninger
A surname of German origin meaning "one who has an opinion or an optimist".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Meninger. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meninger 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Meninger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meninger
The surname Meninger is of German origin, derived from the word "mening" which means "boundary" or "border" in Old German. It is believed to have originated in the 12th century in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meninger can be found in the Codex Laureshamensis, a medieval manuscript from the Lorsch Abbey in present-day Hesse, Germany, dating back to the 9th century. This document mentions a certain "Meningerus" who was a landowner in the region.
Another notable early reference to the name can be found in the Traditiones et Antiquitates Fuldenses, a collection of documents from the Fulda Monastery in Hesse, which includes a record of a "Meningarius" who donated land to the monastery in the 11th century.
The name Meninger is also believed to have been associated with certain place names, such as Meningen (now known as Mengen) in Baden-Württemberg, and Mening, a village near Regensburg in Bavaria. These place names likely derived from the same Old German word "mening" and may have influenced the development of the surname.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Meninger was Johannes Meninger, a German scholar and theologian who lived in the 15th century (c. 1415-1487). He was known for his work in the field of canon law and served as a professor at the University of Ingolstadt.
Another notable figure was Johann Meninger, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century (c. 1520-1587). He was known for his religious paintings and woodcuts, many of which can be found in churches and museums throughout Germany.
In the 17th century, there was a prominent Meninger family in the city of Nuremberg, including Johann Andreas Meninger (1623-1687), a successful merchant and businessman, and his son Johann Georg Meninger (1661-1732), who was a renowned clockmaker and inventor.
In the 19th century, one of the most famous Meningers was Adolph Meninger (1841-1919), a German-American actor and theatre manager who founded the Meninger Theatre Company in the United States. He and his sons were influential in the development of American theatre and helped to popularize classic plays and theatrical productions.
Another notable figure was Max Meninger (1878-1948), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Meninger Foundation, a leading psychiatric research institute in Kansas, United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meninger
Among Census respondents with the surname Meninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Meninger 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 Meninger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 111
- Two or more races5.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meninger
Meninger 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
-12 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,444 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-9 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,699 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 16,444 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 10,699 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 Meninger 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 | #130,610 | #141,309 | -8.2% |
| Count | 130 | 121 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meninger bearers went from 130 to 121 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 10,699 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #141,309.
FAQ
Meninger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meninger?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Meninger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Meninger?
Meninger ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Meninger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Meninger.
Has Meninger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meninger went from 130 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 9 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Meninger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Meninger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meninger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (5.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Meninger (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 Meninger mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "one who has an opinion or an optimist". 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 Meninger (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 people have the last name Meninger?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Meninger at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.