2000
#16,502
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,603
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.59
Rare Last name
Neuenschwander
A German toponymic surname meaning "new settler" or "newcomer".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,249 Americans carry the last name Neuenschwander. That puts it at #14,586 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neuenschwander 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
2.2K
1 in 152,403
Census rank
#14,586
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,961 bearers of the surname Neuenschwander in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14586th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neuenschwander, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Neuenschwander
The surname "NEUENSCHWANDER" originates from the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely from Switzerland or southern Germany, during the late medieval or early modern period.
The name is derived from the German words "neu" meaning "new" and "Schwanden" which can refer to a clearing or open space in a forested area. Thus, the name likely denoted someone who settled or lived in a newly established hamlet or village within a wooded region.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in major historical documents like the Domesday Book, some of the earliest known references to the name can be found in Swiss and German parish records from the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Hans Neuenschwander, born around 1520 in the village of Schwanden, Switzerland. He was a farmer and landowner in the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jakob Neuenschwander (1600-1678), a Swiss Protestant minister and theologian who served in the city of Bern and wrote several influential religious texts.
In the 19th century, Johann Neuenschwander (1819-1892) was a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a member of the National Council of Switzerland, representing the canton of Bern.
The name Neuenschwander also appears in the United States, likely brought by Swiss or German immigrants in the 19th century. One such individual was Johann Neuenschwander (1835-1912), who emigrated from Switzerland to Ohio in the 1860s and became a successful farmer and landowner.
Another American bearer of the name was William Neuenschwander (1867-1945), a businessman and entrepreneur from Pennsylvania who founded a successful manufacturing company that produced equipment for the coal mining industry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neuenschwander
Among Census respondents with the surname Neuenschwander, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Neuenschwander 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 Neuenschwander surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 1,833
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 57
- Two or more races2.8% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neuenschwander
Neuenschwander 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
#15,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,856
+253 bearers (+15.8%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 790 places
2020
#14,586
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,961
+105 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 1,126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,502 | 1,603 | 0.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,712 | 1,856 | 0.63 | +253 bearers (+15.8%) | Up 790 places |
| 2020 | #14,586 | 1,961 | 0.66 | +105 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 1,126 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 Neuenschwander 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 | #15,712 | #14,586 | 7.2% |
| Count | 1,856 | 1,961 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.66 | 4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neuenschwander bearers went from 1,856 to 1,961 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 1,126 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,712 to #14,586.
FAQ
Neuenschwander surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neuenschwander?
Name Census estimates that about 2,249 living Americans carry the surname Neuenschwander. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,403 residents.
How common is Neuenschwander?
Neuenschwander ranks #14,586 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,961 people with the surname Neuenschwander. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,249), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Neuenschwander.
Has Neuenschwander become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neuenschwander went from 1,856 recorded bearers to 1,961. That is an increase of 105 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,712 to #14,586.
What does the Census say about the background of Neuenschwander?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neuenschwander, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Neuenschwander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (1,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neuenschwander appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Neuenschwander (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 Neuenschwander mean?
A German toponymic surname meaning "new settler" or "newcomer". 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 Neuenschwander (0.66 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 Neuenschwander?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.