Find out how popular the last name Nihiser is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Nihiser.

Nihiser, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Nihiser surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nihiser in America

Nihiser is the 48901st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nihiser surname appeared 431 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nihiser.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nihiser to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Nihiser

The surname NIHISER is believed to have originated in Germany during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "nihus", meaning "new house" or "new dwelling". This suggests that the name may have initially been used to refer to someone who had recently built or moved into a new residence.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname NIHISER can be found in a parish register from the town of Wittenberg in 1592, where a man named Hans Nihiser is listed as a resident. This provides evidence that the name was in use in central Germany during the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the NIHISER name began to spread to other regions of Germany, with records showing individuals bearing the surname in places like Bavaria and Saxony. One notable NIHISER from this era was Johann Nihiser, a Lutheran minister who served in the town of Gotha from 1639 to 1672.

As the NIHISER family continued to grow and disperse throughout Germany over the following centuries, variations in the spelling of the name began to emerge. Some examples of these alternate spellings include Niehuser, Niehauser, and Niehusius.

During the 19th century, several NIHISER families emigrated from Germany to other parts of Europe and to North America. One such individual was Wilhelm Nihiser, who was born in Hannover in 1825 and later settled in Pennsylvania, United States, where he worked as a farmer.

Another notable NIHISER from this period was Karl Nihiser, a German philosopher and author who was born in 1848 in Dresden. He is best known for his writings on ethics and political theory, and his works were widely read and discussed throughout Europe during his lifetime.

As the 20th century dawned, the NIHISER name continued to be found in various parts of the world, with individuals bearing the surname living in countries such as Australia, Canada, and Argentina. One prominent NIHISER from this era was Heinrich Nihiser, a German-born architect who designed several notable buildings in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 1920s and 1930s.

In more recent times, the NIHISER surname has remained relatively uncommon, but it continues to be carried on by families in various parts of the world, with each generation adding to the rich history and legacy of this fascinating name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nihiser

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Nihiser.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Nihiser was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Nihiser has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Nihiser was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Nihiser, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!