2000
#10,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,656
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Quattlebaum
A German occupational surname referring to someone who worked with wadding or padding material, likely for clothing or upholstery.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,073 Americans carry the last name Quattlebaum. That puts it at #11,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,537 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quattlebaum 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
3.1K
1 in 111,537
Census rank
#11,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,680 bearers of the surname Quattlebaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quattlebaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quattlebaum
The surname Quattlebaum originated in Germany during the 16th century. It is derived from the German words "Quatte" meaning a type of quince fruit and "Baum" meaning tree, possibly referring to an occupation involving quince trees or a location where these trees grew abundantly. The name was initially spelled in various ways, such as Quattelbaum, Quattelbaumen, and Quattlebaume.
In the late 16th century, records show the Quattlebaum family settled in the Palatinate region of Germany. Some of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in church records and tax rolls from towns like Heidelberg and Mannheim during this period.
As the Quattlebaum family spread across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, the name evolved into different spellings and variations. In the Netherlands, it was sometimes written as Quattelbaum or Quattelboom, while in France, it appeared as Quatrebaume or Quattreboume.
One notable mention of the name Quattlebaum can be found in the records of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), where a soldier named Hans Quattlebaum is listed among the German mercenaries fighting for the Protestant forces.
The earliest known Quattlebaum immigrant to North America was Johann Quattlebaum, who arrived in Pennsylvania from Germany in 1748. He settled in the area now known as York County, where he established a farm and raised a family.
In the 19th century, several individuals with the Quattlebaum surname made significant contributions. John Quattlebaum (1782-1858) was a prominent lawyer and judge in South Carolina, serving as a circuit court judge for many years. William Quattlebaum (1813-1888) was a Baptist minister and educator who founded several schools in Georgia and South Carolina.
Another notable Quattlebaum was Louis Quattlebaum (1870-1949), a successful businessman and philanthropist from South Carolina. He founded the Quattlebaum Corporation, which became a major textile manufacturing company in the early 20th century.
During the American Civil War, several members of the Quattlebaum family fought for the Confederate Army. One of them was Captain James Quattlebaum (1838-1864), who was killed in action at the Battle of Atlanta while leading his infantry company.
In more recent times, John Quattlebaum (1941-2008) was a renowned art collector and curator who helped establish several museums and art institutions in the southern United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quattlebaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Quattlebaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Quattlebaum 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 Quattlebaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.1% · 1,771
- Black or African American27.1% · 726
- Two or more races3.5% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quattlebaum
Quattlebaum 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
#11,279
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,801
+145 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 293 places
2020
#11,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,680
-121 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,986 | 2,656 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,279 | 2,801 | 0.95 | +145 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 293 places |
| 2020 | #11,273 | 2,680 | 0.90 | -121 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 6 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 Quattlebaum 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 | #11,279 | #11,273 | 0.1% |
| Count | 2,801 | 2,680 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.90 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quattlebaum bearers went from 2,801 to 2,680 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,279 to #11,273.
FAQ
Quattlebaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quattlebaum?
Name Census estimates that about 3,073 living Americans carry the surname Quattlebaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,537 residents.
How common is Quattlebaum?
Quattlebaum ranks #11,273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,680 people with the surname Quattlebaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,073), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Quattlebaum.
Has Quattlebaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quattlebaum went from 2,801 recorded bearers to 2,680. That is a decrease of 121 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,279 to #11,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Quattlebaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quattlebaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Quattlebaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.1% (1,771 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quattlebaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.1%), Black (27.1%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Quattlebaum (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 Quattlebaum mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who worked with wadding or padding material, likely for clothing or upholstery. 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 Quattlebaum (0.90 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 are called Quattlebaum?
You can see how many people have the surname Quattlebaum on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.