2000
#10,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,957
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Neufeld
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) toponymic surname referring to someone from any of various places called Neufeld, meaning "new field."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,025 Americans carry the last name Neufeld. That puts it at #8,946 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,156 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neufeld 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
4.0K
1 in 85,156
Census rank
#8,946
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,510 bearers of the surname Neufeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8946th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neufeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Neufeld
The surname Neufeld is of German origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. The name is derived from the German words "neu" meaning "new" and "feld" meaning "field," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been farmers who settled on newly cultivated fields or lands.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Neufeld was Hans Neufeld, a farmer from the village of Rothenburg in Bavaria, who was mentioned in a local census record from 1572. In the 17th century, the Neufeld name appeared in various church records and tax rolls across southern Germany, indicating the gradual spread of the surname throughout the region.
The Neufeld surname gained prominence in the 18th century with the birth of Johann Christoph Neufeld (1718-1798), a renowned German composer and organist. Neufeld's compositions, particularly his organ works, were widely performed and celebrated during his lifetime, earning him recognition as one of the most influential composers of the Baroque era.
As the 19th century dawned, the Neufeld surname continued to spread across Europe, with notable individuals emerging in various fields. Theodor Neufeld (1846-1912), a German-born Russian industrialist, played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in Tsarist Russia, establishing several successful factories and contributing to the region's economic growth.
Another prominent figure with the Neufeld surname was Martha Neufeld (1871-1948), a pioneering German-American architect and one of the first women to practice architecture professionally in the United States. Neufeld's notable works include the design of several residential and commercial buildings in New York City, showcasing her innovative architectural styles and contributing to the city's urban landscape.
In the 20th century, the Neufeld name continued to resonate in various fields, with individuals like Hans Neufeld (1903-1982), a Swiss-born American mathematician and statistician, making significant contributions to the field of probability theory and statistical inference.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have carried the Neufeld surname throughout history, demonstrating its enduring presence and the diverse contributions made by those who bear this name across various disciplines and regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neufeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Neufeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Neufeld 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 Neufeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 3,171
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 212
- Two or more races2.3% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 24
- Black or African American0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neufeld
Neufeld 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
#9,701
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,344
+387 bearers (+13.1%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 355 places
2020
#8,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,510
+166 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Up 755 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,056 | 2,957 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,701 | 3,344 | 1.13 | +387 bearers (+13.1%) | Up 355 places |
| 2020 | #8,946 | 3,510 | 1.17 | +166 bearers (+5.0%) | Up 755 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 Neufeld 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 | #9,701 | #8,946 | 7.8% |
| Count | 3,344 | 3,510 | 5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.17 | 3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neufeld bearers went from 3,344 to 3,510 (+5.0% change). The surname moved up 755 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,701 to #8,946.
FAQ
Neufeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neufeld?
Name Census estimates that about 4,025 living Americans carry the surname Neufeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,156 residents.
How common is Neufeld?
Neufeld ranks #8,946 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 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 3,510 people with the surname Neufeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,025), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 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 Neufeld.
Has Neufeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neufeld went from 3,344 recorded bearers to 3,510. That is an increase of 166 (+5.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,701 to #8,946.
What does the Census say about the background of Neufeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neufeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Neufeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (3,171 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neufeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (6.0%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Neufeld (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 Neufeld mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) toponymic surname referring to someone from any of various places called Neufeld, meaning "new field." 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 Neufeld (1.17 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 Neufeld?
Want to know how many people have the surname Neufeld? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.