2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Neidenbach
A German surname derived from a place name potentially meaning "near the valley stream".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Neidenbach. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neidenbach 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Neidenbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neidenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Neidenbach
The surname NEIDENBACH is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the place name Neidenbach, which is a small town located in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The name is composed of the German words "neid" meaning "envy" or "jealousy" and "bach" meaning "stream" or "brook."
The earliest recorded instance of the surname dates back to the 14th century, where it was found in various official records and documents from the Rhineland region. One notable historical reference is in the "Zinsregister des Klosters Rosenthal" (Rent Register of the Rosenthal Monastery) from 1389, which mentions a "Henne von Neidenbach" as a resident of the area.
In the 16th century, the surname appears in the "Kirchenbücher" (Church Records) of several villages near Neidenbach, suggesting that the name was well-established in the region by that time. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Hans Neidenbach (1495-1569), a respected farmer and landowner in the village of Oberkirchen.
The name NEIDENBACH also appears in various historical documents from other parts of Germany, indicating that some families migrated from the original region. For instance, in the 17th century, a Johann Neidenbach (1627-1698) is recorded as a merchant in the city of Hamburg.
A prominent figure with this surname was Eberhard Neidenbach (1745-1824), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the court of appeal in Mainz. He was known for his contributions to the field of civil law and authored several legal treatises.
Another notable individual was Wilhelmine Neidenbach (1810-1891), a German philanthropist and social reformer. She founded several charitable organizations and worked tirelessly to improve the living conditions of the poor and underprivileged in her hometown of Cologne.
In the 19th century, the name NEIDENBACH gained wider recognition with the birth of Robert Neidenbach (1839-1912), a German entrepreneur and industrialist. He founded the Neidenbach Machinery Works, which became a leading manufacturer of mining equipment and contributed significantly to the industrialization of the Ruhr region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neidenbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Neidenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Neidenbach 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 Neidenbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 107
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neidenbach
Neidenbach 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
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,636 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,187 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 12,636 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 1,187 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 Neidenbach 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 | #150,452 | #151,639 | -0.8% |
| Count | 109 | 107 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neidenbach bearers went from 109 to 107 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 1,187 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #151,639.
FAQ
Neidenbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neidenbach?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Neidenbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Neidenbach?
Neidenbach ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Neidenbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Neidenbach.
Has Neidenbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neidenbach went from 109 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Neidenbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neidenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Neidenbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neidenbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Neidenbach (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 Neidenbach mean?
A German surname derived from a place name potentially meaning "near the valley stream". 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 Neidenbach (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 Neidenbach?
You can see how many people are called Neidenbach on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.