Reisner last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Reisner

A surname derived from the German word "Reisner," meaning a traveler or someone from Reisner.

Reisner, 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 Reisner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reisner in America

Reisner is the 16051st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reisner surname appeared 1,806 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Reisner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reisner 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 16051 15627 2.68%
Count 1,806 1,717 5.05%
Proportion per 100k 0.61 0.64 -4.80%

The history of the last name Reisner

The surname Reisner has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "reisen," which means "to travel" or "to journey." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who traveled frequently, perhaps a merchant or a wandering tradesman.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Reisner name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which mentions a person named Johannes Reisner in the year 1287.

The name Reisner is also connected to various place names in Germany, such as Reisner Berg (Reisner Mountain) in the Black Forest region, and Reisnersdorf (Reisner's Village) in Saxony. These place names may have influenced the surname's spelling variations, such as Reissner or Reißner.

Notable individuals bearing the Reisner surname include:

  1. Adam Reisner (1492-1576), a German Renaissance painter and printmaker known for his religious works and portraits.
  2. Georg Andreas Reisner (1776-1828), a German painter and engraver renowned for his landscapes and biblical scenes.
  3. George Andrew Reisner (1867-1942), an American archaeologist and Egyptologist who led several important excavations in Egypt, including the discovery of the Giza Pyramids Workmen's Village.
  4. Hans Reisner (1884-1967), an Austrian-American architect and designer known for his contributions to Art Deco and Modernist architecture in New York City.
  5. Hedwig Reisner (1887-1964), a German stage and film actress who appeared in over 50 movies during the silent era and the early years of talkies.

While the Reisner surname has spread across various regions and countries, its roots can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it likely originated as an occupational name for travelers or merchants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reisner

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

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 Reisner was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.95% 1,751
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.33% 6
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.83% 15
Hispanic Origin 1.66% 30

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 Reisner has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.95% 96.21% 0.77%
Black 0.33% 0.52% -44.71%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.83% 1.05% -23.40%
Hispanic 1.66% 1.63% 1.82%

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

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

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"Reisner last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 24, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/reisner-surname-popularity/.

"Reisner last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/reisner-surname-popularity/. Accessed 24 November, 2024

Reisner last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/reisner-surname-popularity/.

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