2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Quittschreiber
A German occupational surname meaning "quill writer" or "scribe".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Quittschreiber. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quittschreiber 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Quittschreiber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quittschreiber, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quittschreiber
The surname QUITTSCHREIBER has its origins in German-speaking regions, likely emerging in the late medieval period or early modern era. It appears to be a compound word derived from the German terms "Quitt" (meaning "receipt" or "discharge") and "Schreiber" (meaning "writer" or "scribe"). This suggests that the name may have initially referred to an occupation – someone who wrote or issued official receipts, discharges, or other documents.
One of the earliest known references to the surname can be found in records from the city of Nuremberg in the 16th century, where a certain Hans Quittschreiber is mentioned as a clerk or scribe. There are also records of a Quittschreiber family residing in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in the 17th century.
The name QUITTSCHREIBER may have evolved from or been influenced by similar occupational surnames such as "Schreiber" (scribe) or "Notarius" (notary). It's also possible that the name was initially a descriptive nickname or byname referring to an individual's profession before becoming a hereditary surname.
Among notable historical figures with the surname QUITTSCHREIBER, one can mention Johann Quittschreiber (1560-1623), a German jurist and legal scholar from Nuremberg who wrote extensively on civil and criminal law. Another notable bearer of the name was Konrad Quittschreiber (1678-1741), a merchant and philanthropist from Rothenburg ob der Tauber who made significant contributions to the town's infrastructure and social welfare.
In the 19th century, a certain Wilhelm Quittschreiber (1818-1892) was a prominent architect from Munich, known for designing several notable buildings in the city. Additionally, there was a German painter named Ernst Quittschreiber (1845-1919) who specialized in landscapes and genre scenes.
It's also worth mentioning that the surname QUITTSCHREIBER has been found in various historical records and documents across German-speaking regions, such as church registers, tax rolls, and census records, indicating its widespread use and distribution in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quittschreiber
Among Census respondents with the surname Quittschreiber, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Quittschreiber 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 Quittschreiber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 116
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quittschreiber
Quittschreiber 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,045 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-10 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,484 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 8,045 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 11,484 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 Quittschreiber 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 | #129,825 | #141,309 | -8.8% |
| Count | 131 | 121 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quittschreiber bearers went from 131 to 121 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 11,484 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #141,309.
FAQ
Quittschreiber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quittschreiber?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Quittschreiber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Quittschreiber?
Quittschreiber ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 121 people with the surname Quittschreiber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Quittschreiber.
Has Quittschreiber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quittschreiber went from 131 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Quittschreiber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quittschreiber, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Quittschreiber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quittschreiber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.9%), Two or More Races (1.7%), Black (0.8%). 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 Quittschreiber (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 Quittschreiber mean?
A German occupational surname meaning "quill writer" or "scribe". 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 Quittschreiber (0.04 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 Quittschreiber?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.