2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Menten
A surname possibly derived from the Dutch place name Menthen or Menten.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Menten. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Menten 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Menten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Menten, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Menten
The surname Menten is of Dutch origin, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, specifically in the regions of Friesland and Groningen. The name is derived from the Old Frisian word "menta," which means "to measure" or "to survey." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the surname may have been land surveyors or individuals involved in measuring and mapping activities.
The earliest recorded instances of the Menten surname can be found in historical documents from the city of Groningen, dating back to the late 1500s. One notable mention is in the records of the Groningen Ommelander, a regional administrative body, where a certain Jan Menten is listed as a landowner in 1587.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various legal and property records across the Netherlands. One prominent figure was Pieter Menten, a merchant and ship owner from Amsterdam, who was born in 1620 and played a significant role in the Dutch East India Company's trading activities in the East Indies.
Another notable individual was Gerrit Menten, a Dutch mathematician and astronomer born in 1651 in Leiden. He made contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was a member of the prestigious Royal Society in London.
As the Dutch expanded their influence globally, the Menten surname spread to other parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Dutch settlements or colonies. In the late 17th century, the name can be found in records from the Dutch colony of Suriname, where a plantation owner named Dirk Menten is mentioned in documents from 1692.
In the 19th century, the Menten surname gained further prominence with the birth of Wilhelm Menten (1848-1924), a German chemist and professor at the University of Leipzig. He made significant contributions to the field of chemical kinetics and is best known for the Michaelis-Menten equation, which describes enzyme kinetics.
Other notable individuals with the Menten surname include Theodor Menten (1820-1901), a German Catholic theologian and professor at the University of Münster, and Erich Menten (1905-1989), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin during the post-World War II reconstruction period.
While the Menten surname has spread across various regions, its origins can be traced back to the Netherlands, where it emerged as a reference to the profession of land surveying or measurement. The name's longevity and presence in historical records attest to its enduring legacy across multiple centuries and geographical locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Menten
Among Census respondents with the surname Menten, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Menten 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 Menten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 9
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Menten
Menten 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-16 bearers (-12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,361 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 887 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.2%) | Down 22,361 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 887 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 Menten 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 | #144,141 | #145,028 | -0.6% |
| Count | 115 | 116 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Menten bearers went from 115 to 116 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 887 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #145,028.
FAQ
Menten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Menten?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Menten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Menten?
Menten ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Menten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Menten.
Has Menten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Menten went from 115 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Menten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Menten, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Menten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Menten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Hispanic (7.8%), Black (2.6%). 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 Menten (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 Menten mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Dutch place name Menthen or Menten. 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 Menten (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 are called Menten?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Menten on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.