Noethen last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Noethen

A German surname derived from a place name meaning "necessity" or "constraint."

Noethen, 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 Noethen surname is from the 2000 census data.

Popularity of Noethen in America

Noethen is the 149328th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Noethen surname appeared 101 times in the 2000 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Noethen.

The history of the last name Noethen

The surname Noethen originates from Germany, specifically from regions within the Rhineland and Westphalia. The name is considered to have emerged during the High Middle Ages, around the 12th to 14th centuries. Noethen is derived from the Germanic root words "noth," which means "need" or "distress," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who experienced hardship or was known for helping people in need.

One of the earliest references to the surname Noethen appears in medieval manuscripts dating back to the 13th century. An old record mentions a Hermann Noethen, a local magistrate in the Rhineland region around 1245. This indicates that the name was established among the social classes that had some degree of literacy and public responsibility.

The surname also appears in various form during the 15th and 16th centuries. For instance, in 1487, a Johannes Noethen is documented as a farmer and landowner in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia. By the mid-17th century, members of the Noethen family had migrated to other parts of Germany, including Bavaria. A notable instance from this period is the record of Martin Noethen, born in 1623, who served as a parish clerk in a small town near Würzburg.

Another notable figure is Wilhelm Noethen (1798-1857), a prominent lawyer and judge in the early 19th century Prussia. His legal acumen was well-regarded, and he is mentioned in several legal journals of the time. The Noethen family continued to produce notable figures such as Friedrich Noethen, born in 1845, a university professor in Berlin, contributing to the fields of philosophy and educational reform.

By the late 19th century, the industrial revolution saw a spread of people with the surname into urban centers. Karl Noethen, born in 1872, became a distinguished engineer, contributing to the development of mechanical engineering practices during his career in Hamburg.

The surname Noethen, through its various spellings and adaptations, reflects a history deeply embedded in the social and economic frameworks of medieval and early modern Germany. The lineage, traced through historical records, underscores its persistence and the notability of its bearers in various professional fields over several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Noethen

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

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 2000 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Noethen was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 98.02% 99
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 0.00% 0

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.

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 Noethen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Noethen last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 6, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/noethen-surname-popularity/.

"Noethen last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/noethen-surname-popularity/. Accessed 6 August, 2025

Noethen last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/noethen-surname-popularity/.

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