2000
#25,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 918
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Rare Last name
Plattner
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word for "flat worker" or platter maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,091 Americans carry the last name Plattner. That puts it at #26,940 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 314,165 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Plattner 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
1.1K
1 in 314,165
Census rank
#26,940
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
951
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 951 bearers of the surname Plattner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26940th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Plattner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Plattner
Among Census respondents with the surname Plattner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Plattner 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 Plattner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 880
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 39
- Two or more races1.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 10
- Black or African American0.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Plattner
Plattner 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
#25,865
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 951
+33 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 536 places
2020
#26,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 951
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 1,075 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,329 | 918 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #25,865 | 951 | 0.32 | +33 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 536 places |
| 2020 | #26,940 | 951 | 0.32 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 1,075 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 Plattner 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 | #25,865 | #26,940 | -4.2% |
| Count | 951 | 951 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.32 | 0.32 | -0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Plattner bearers went from 951 to 951 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 1,075 positions in the national ranking, going from #25,865 to #26,940.
FAQ
Plattner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Plattner?
Name Census estimates that about 1,091 living Americans carry the surname Plattner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 314,165 residents.
How common is Plattner?
Plattner ranks #26,940 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 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 951 people with the surname Plattner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,091), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 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 Plattner.
Has Plattner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Plattner went from 951 recorded bearers to 951. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #25,865 to #26,940.
What does the Census say about the background of Plattner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Plattner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Plattner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (880 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Plattner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Plattner (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 Plattner mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word for "flat worker" or platter maker. 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 Plattner (0.32 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 surname Plattner?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.