2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Mittner
A German surname derived from the word "mittner," meaning someone from the middle or central region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Mittner. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mittner 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Mittner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mittner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mittner
The surname Mittner is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 15th or 16th century. It is derived from the Old German word "mitter," which means "middle" or "center," and was likely used as a descriptive term for someone who lived in the middle of a town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the town of Nuremberg in 1492, where a Hans Mittner is listed as a resident. Another early reference is in the parish records of the village of Oberhausen in 1521, which mentions a family by the name of Mittner.
The name may also have been derived from a place name, such as Mittnerberg or Mittnersdorf, which were small villages or hamlets in what is now southern Germany or Austria. These place names themselves likely originated from the word "mitter," indicating their central location within a larger region.
Notable historical figures with the surname Mittner include Johann Mittner (1743-1819), a German composer and organist who was active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Another was Wilhelm Mittner (1822-1899), a German politician and member of the Reichstag, the parliament of the German Empire, in the late 19th century.
In the 20th century, there was Hans Mittner (1901-1978), a German architect who was known for his work in the Bauhaus style, and Karl Mittner (1925-2013), an Austrian painter and sculptor whose works were heavily influenced by expressionism and surrealism.
More recently, there was Erika Mittner (1926-2001), an Austrian-Swedish author and playwright who wrote several well-known works in both German and Swedish, including the novel "Malins Resa" (Malin's Journey).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mittner
Among Census respondents with the surname Mittner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mittner 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 Mittner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 5
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mittner
Mittner 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
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,957 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 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 4,957 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 Mittner 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 | #154,755 | 3.1% |
| Count | 101 | 102 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mittner bearers went from 101 to 102 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 4,957 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #154,755.
FAQ
Mittner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mittner?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Mittner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Mittner?
Mittner ranks #154,755 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 102 people with the surname Mittner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), 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 Mittner.
Has Mittner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mittner went from 101 recorded bearers to 102. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Mittner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mittner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Mittner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mittner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (4.9%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Mittner (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 Mittner mean?
A German surname derived from the word "mittner," meaning someone from the middle or central region. 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 Mittner (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 are called Mittner?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Mittner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.