Misner last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Misner is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Misner.

Meaning of Misner

An occupational surname for a sexton or church bell-ringer, derived from the German word "messner" meaning "sacristan."

Misner, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Misner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Misner in America

Misner is the 9573rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Misner surname appeared 3,395 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Misner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Misner to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9573 9295 2.95%
Count 3,395 3,225 5.14%
Proportion per 100k 1.15 1.20 -4.26%

The history of the last name Misner

The surname Misner is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Mies," which means "bog" or "marsh," suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived in or near a marshy area.

One of the earliest documented references to the Misner surname can be found in the records of the town of Hessen in central Germany, where a family by the name of Misner is mentioned in the late 1500s. This record provides valuable insight into the geographical origins of the name.

In the 17th century, the Misner name began appearing in various records across other parts of Germany, including in the cities of Nuremberg and Munich. It is possible that the name underwent minor spelling variations during this time, with some records showing it as "Misnner" or "Misener."

As the Misner family spread across Germany and beyond, several notable individuals with this surname emerged. One such person was Johann Misner, a respected scholar and theologian who lived in the city of Leipzig in the late 1600s. Another notable figure was Hans Misner, a successful merchant and trader who operated in the Hanseatic League during the mid-1700s.

In the 19th century, the Misner name found its way to the United States, with many German immigrants carrying the surname settling in various parts of the country. One of the earliest recorded Misners in America was Wilhelm Misner, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1832.

Another prominent individual with the Misner surname was Charles Misner, a prominent American physicist and mathematician who was born in 1932 and made significant contributions to the field of general relativity. He is known for his work on the Misner-Sharp mass function and the Misner-Wheeler wormhole concept.

Throughout history, the Misner surname has been associated with various professions, including academia, business, and the arts. While the name may have originated from a humble reference to a marshy area, it has since become a respected surname carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and accomplishments.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Misner

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Misner.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Misner was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.23% 3,165
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.59% 54
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.53% 18
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.41% 14
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.62% 55
Hispanic Origin 2.62% 89

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Misner has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.23% 96.37% -3.31%
Black 1.59% 0.47% 108.74%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.53% 0.40% 27.96%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.41% 0.59% -36.00%
Two or More Races 1.62% 0.87% 60.24%
Hispanic 2.62% 1.30% 67.35%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Misner was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Misner, please contact us.

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"Misner last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/misner-surname-popularity/.

"Misner last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/misner-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Misner last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/misner-surname-popularity/.

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