2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pfadenhauer
A German surname related to paths or trails, possibly referring to an occupation like trail builder or woodsman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Pfadenhauer. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pfadenhauer 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Pfadenhauer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pfadenhauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pfadenhauer
The surname Pfadenhauer originated in Germany, emerging sometime during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "Pfad," meaning "path," and "Hauer," meaning "one who cuts or hews." This suggests the name may have been given to someone who worked as a road builder or path maker, clearing and maintaining routes through forested areas.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Pfadenhauer can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest known bearers of this surname include Hans Pfadenhauer, a farmer mentioned in records from the village of Obermöllrich in 1389, and Konrad Pfadenhauer, a woodcutter from the town of Zwickau, whose name appears in a registry from 1412.
In the 16th century, the Pfadenhauer surname is found in several historical documents, including land records and tax rolls. One notable figure from this time was Matthias Pfadenhauer, a merchant and town councilor in the city of Nuremberg, who lived from 1525 to 1598.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Pfadenhauer name spread across various parts of Germany, as well as into neighboring regions such as Austria and Switzerland. Johannes Pfadenhauer (1601-1676), a Lutheran pastor from Saxony, was a prominent figure in the religious life of his time.
As the 19th century dawned, the Pfadenhauer surname gained recognition in other fields, including academia and the arts. Karl Pfadenhauer (1809-1887) was a German philologist and professor at the University of Erlangen, known for his contributions to the study of Old Norse literature. Meanwhile, Wilhelm Pfadenhauer (1821-1879) was a celebrated landscape painter from Munich, renowned for his depictions of the Bavarian Alps.
Throughout its history, the Pfadenhauer surname has been associated with various place names and alternate spellings, such as Pfadenhawer, Pfadenhower, and Pfadenhawer, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and orthography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pfadenhauer
Among Census respondents with the surname Pfadenhauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Pfadenhauer 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 Pfadenhauer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 94
- Two or more races5.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pfadenhauer
Pfadenhauer appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-9 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,473 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 4,473 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 Pfadenhauer 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 | #151,532 | #156,005 | -3.0% |
| Count | 108 | 99 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pfadenhauer bearers went from 108 to 99 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 4,473 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #156,005.
FAQ
Pfadenhauer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pfadenhauer?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Pfadenhauer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Pfadenhauer?
Pfadenhauer ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Pfadenhauer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Pfadenhauer.
Has Pfadenhauer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pfadenhauer went from 108 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Pfadenhauer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pfadenhauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Pfadenhauer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pfadenhauer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Pfadenhauer (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 Pfadenhauer mean?
A German surname related to paths or trails, possibly referring to an occupation like trail builder or woodsman. 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 Pfadenhauer (0.03 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 Pfadenhauer?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Pfadenhauer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.