2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Misselhorn
A German surname derived from a geographic location or town name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Misselhorn. 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 Misselhorn 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 Misselhorn 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 Misselhorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Misselhorn
The surname Misselhorn has its origins in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Middle Low German words "missel" meaning "mistletoe" and "horn" meaning "horn" or "corner." This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a place where mistletoe grew abundantly or in a location with a distinct geographic feature resembling a horn.
One of the earliest known references to the name Misselhorn can be found in the records of the town of Rostock in northern Germany, where a person by the name of Hans Misselhorn was mentioned in a document from 1562. It is likely that the name originated in this region or nearby areas.
The Misselhorn name can also be traced back to the village of Mittelshorn in the state of Hesse, Germany. This place name, which translates to "middle horn," may have contributed to the development of the surname as people migrated from the village and adopted the name as a way to identify their place of origin.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure named Johann Misselhorn (1733-1807) was a renowned clockmaker and inventor from the town of Kassel in Hesse. His contributions to the field of horology and mechanics were widely recognized during his lifetime.
Another prominent individual with the surname Misselhorn was Friedrich Misselhorn (1811-1890), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Halle. He published several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
The name Misselhorn also appears in historical records from other parts of Europe, suggesting that the name may have spread through migration and trade routes. For instance, a merchant named Hans Misselhorn is mentioned in documents from the city of Gdańsk (formerly Danzig) in Poland during the 17th century.
Throughout the centuries, variations of the spelling have emerged, such as Misselhorne, Misselhörn, and Misselhörner, reflecting regional dialects and language changes over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Misselhorn
Among Census respondents with the surname Misselhorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Misselhorn 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 Misselhorn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 95
- Two or more races6.7% · 7
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Misselhorn
Misselhorn 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,325 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-13 bearers (-11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 11,482 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 5,325 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -13 bearers (-11.1%) | Down 11,482 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 Misselhorn 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 | #142,108 | #153,590 | -8.1% |
| Count | 117 | 104 | -11.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Misselhorn bearers went from 117 to 104 (-11.1% change). The surname moved down 11,482 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #153,590.
FAQ
Misselhorn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Misselhorn?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Misselhorn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Misselhorn?
Misselhorn 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 Misselhorn. 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 Misselhorn.
Has Misselhorn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Misselhorn went from 117 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 13 (-11.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Misselhorn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Misselhorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) 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 Misselhorn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Misselhorn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (6.7%), 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 Misselhorn (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 Misselhorn mean?
A German surname derived from a geographic location or town name. 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 Misselhorn (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 Americans have the surname Misselhorn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.