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

Plattner, 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 Plattner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Plattner in America

Plattner is the 25865th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Plattner surname appeared 951 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 Plattner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Plattner 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 Plattner

The surname Plattner is of German origin, derived from the Middle German word "platte" meaning "flat" or "level." It likely originated as an occupational surname for a person who worked as a metal worker or armor maker, specifically one who flattened metal sheets.

The name can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name include Hans Plattner, mentioned in a document from Nuremberg in 1389, and Ulrich Plattner, a blacksmith from Leipzig in 1412.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Plattner surname appeared in various town records and chronicles across German-speaking regions. In 1487, a certain Peter Plattner was listed as a citizen of Augsburg, while in 1521, a Johann Plattner was recorded as a resident of Erfurt.

The Plattner name is also associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Conrad Plattner, a German painter and engraver who lived in the late 15th century. His works can be found in various churches and museums across Europe.

In the 18th century, Johann Zacharias Plattner (1691-1757) was a renowned German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. His writings on ethics and natural law were influential during the Enlightenment period.

Another prominent figure was Carl Friedrich Plattner (1800-1888), a German chemist and mineralogist who made significant contributions to the study of minerals and their classification. He was a professor at the University of Freiburg and authored several influential works in his field.

In the 19th century, Johann Jakob Plattner (1819-1889) was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Federal Council, the highest executive authority in Switzerland, from 1875 to 1878.

More recently, Marc Plattner (born 1952) is an American political scientist and co-editor of the Journal of Democracy. He has written extensively on democratic transitions and the challenges facing democracies around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Plattner

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

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

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

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