2000
#9,550
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Posner
Derived from a Polish place name, likely referring to a town, village, or other local feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,626 Americans carry the last name Posner. That puts it at #9,779 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,527 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Posner 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Posner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 94,527
Census rank
#9,779
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,162 bearers of the surname Posner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9779th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Posner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Posner
The surname Posner is of German origin, derived from the word "Posauner" which means "trumpeter" in German. This occupational surname was likely first given to someone who played the trumpet or other brass instruments.
The name Posner can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas of Bavaria and Saxony. It is believed that the name first appeared in written records and documents around this time period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Posner was found in the 14th century Nuremberg Codex, a collection of legal documents and records from the city of Nuremberg. This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the late Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, there are records of a family named Posner living in the town of Zwickau, in the present-day state of Saxony. One notable member of this family was Johann Posner, a Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1528 to 1597.
Another early bearer of the Posner name was Hans Posner, a German composer and organist who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known for his contributions to the development of the organ music tradition in Germany.
In the 18th century, the Posner name appears in various records and documents from different parts of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Prussia. One notable individual from this time period was Johann Friedrich Posner, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1767 to 1836.
As the name spread throughout Germany and Europe, it also underwent various spelling variations, such as Posener, Posnehr, and Posnair. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciation.
Throughout history, the Posner surname has been associated with individuals from various professions, including musicians, composers, philosophers, and writers. Some other notable figures with the Posner name include Richard Posner, an American legal scholar and judge born in 1939, and Eric Posner, an American legal theorist and professor, born in 1965.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Posner
Among Census respondents with the surname Posner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Posner 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 Posner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,911
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 120
- Two or more races2.0% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 40
- Black or African American0.8% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Posner
Posner 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
#10,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,157
+34 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 654 places
2020
#9,779
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,162
+5 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 425 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,550 | 3,123 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,204 | 3,157 | 1.07 | +34 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 654 places |
| 2020 | #9,779 | 3,162 | 1.06 | +5 bearers (+0.2%) | Up 425 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 Posner 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 | #10,204 | #9,779 | 4.2% |
| Count | 3,157 | 3,162 | 0.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 1.06 | -1.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Posner bearers went from 3,157 to 3,162 (+0.2% change). The surname moved up 425 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,204 to #9,779.
FAQ
Posner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Posner?
Name Census estimates that about 3,626 living Americans carry the surname Posner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,527 residents.
How common is Posner?
Posner ranks #9,779 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,162 people with the surname Posner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,626), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Posner.
Has Posner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Posner went from 3,157 recorded bearers to 3,162. That is an increase of 5 (+0.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,204 to #9,779.
What does the Census say about the background of Posner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Posner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Posner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Posner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Posner (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 Posner mean?
Derived from a Polish place name, likely referring to a town, village, or other local feature. 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 Posner (1.06 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 Posner?
Want to know how common the surname Posner is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.