2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Muenchen
A German surname referring to the city of Munich.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Muenchen. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Muenchen 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Muenchen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Muenchen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Muenchen
The surname MUENCHEN originated in the southern German state of Bavaria in the late medieval period. It is derived from the German city of München, which was first mentioned in records in 1158 under the name Munichen. This name likely comes from the Old High German word munichen, meaning "by the monks," as the city grew up around a Benedictine monastery established in the 8th century.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the surname MUENCHEN dates back to 1324, when a Chunradus dictus Munchen ("Konrad called Munich") was mentioned in a document from the city of Regensburg. This suggests that the name was initially used as a descriptive byname for someone from the city of München before becoming an inherited surname.
In the 15th century, the surname MUENCHEN began appearing more frequently in records from various parts of Bavaria and neighboring regions. For example, a Johannes Munchen was recorded in Nuremberg in 1438, and a Hanns Muncher was mentioned in a document from Ingolstadt in 1475.
The MUENCHEN surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann München (c. 1437-1501), a German jurist and diplomat who served as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut. In the 16th century, Martin Munchin (c. 1515-1589) was a prominent Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg.
Another notable bearer of the MUENCHEN surname was Johann Georg Muenchen (1644-1737), a German architect and sculptor who worked in the Baroque style. He is best known for his work on the Benedictine Abbey of Weltenburg in Bavaria. In the 19th century, Friedrich München (1799-1882) was a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and city views.
More recently, Otto München (1886-1965) was a German politician and member of the Nazi Party who served as the last Gauleiter (district leader) of Saxony during World War II.
While the MUENCHEN surname is most commonly found in Germany, particularly in Bavaria, it has also spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and immigration over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Muenchen
Among Census respondents with the surname Muenchen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Muenchen 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 Muenchen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 107
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Muenchen
Muenchen 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
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+12 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,491 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 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 12,491 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 Muenchen 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 | #147,221 | 7.8% |
| Count | 101 | 113 | 11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 26.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Muenchen bearers went from 101 to 113 (+11.9% change). The surname moved up 12,491 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #147,221.
FAQ
Muenchen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Muenchen?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Muenchen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Muenchen?
Muenchen ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Muenchen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Muenchen.
Has Muenchen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Muenchen went from 101 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 12 (+11.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Muenchen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Muenchen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Muenchen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Muenchen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Black (2.7%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Muenchen (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 Muenchen mean?
A German surname referring to the city of Munich. 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 Muenchen (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 have the last name Muenchen?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Muenchen, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.