2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Miessler
A German surname that originally referred to a miller or someone who operated a mill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Miessler. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Miessler 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Miessler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Miessler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Miessler
The surname Miessler is of German origin, originating in the 16th century from the region of Bavaria. It likely derives from the Old High German word "Mizzo," meaning "medlar" or a type of fruit-bearing tree. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked with medlar trees.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Miessler comes from the town of Augsburg in Bavaria, where a Johann Miessler is mentioned in a local parish record from 1587. Records from nearby villages in the late 16th and early 17th centuries also mention individuals with variations of the spelling, such as Miesler and Miesseler.
In the 18th century, the name appears in various church records and documents throughout southern Germany, indicating that families with this surname had spread to other regions. One notable individual from this time was Johann Georg Miessler, a respected clockmaker born in Nuremberg in 1724.
As the Miessler name became more widespread, it began appearing in historical records outside of Germany as well. In the early 19th century, a Hans Miessler is listed as a resident of the Swiss city of Basel in a local census from 1812.
A prominent figure with this surname was the Bavarian artist and engraver Franz Xaver Miessler, who lived from 1782 to 1857. His intricate etchings and engravings of religious scenes and landscapes were highly acclaimed during his lifetime.
Another notable Miessler was the German philosopher and writer Ernst Miessler, born in 1859 in the town of Weiden. His works on ethics and metaphysics were widely read and debated in academic circles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the Miessler surname originated in Bavaria, it eventually spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries through migration and intermarriage. Despite its relatively rare occurrence, the name has persisted for over four centuries, reflecting its deep roots in the cultural and linguistic history of southern Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miessler
Among Census respondents with the surname Miessler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Miessler 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 Miessler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Miessler
Miessler 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
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+3 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 6,122 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +3 bearers (+3.0%) | Up 6,122 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 Miessler 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 | #159,712 | #153,590 | 3.8% |
| Count | 101 | 104 | 3.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Miessler bearers went from 101 to 104 (+3.0% change). The surname moved up 6,122 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #153,590.
FAQ
Miessler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Miessler?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Miessler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Miessler?
Miessler ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Miessler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Miessler.
Has Miessler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Miessler went from 101 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 3 (+3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Miessler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Miessler, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (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 Miessler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Miessler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (3.8%), Black (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 Miessler (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 Miessler mean?
A German surname that originally referred to a miller or someone who operated a mill. 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 Miessler (0.03 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 share the surname Miessler?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.