2000
#12,022
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,384
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Scheidt
A German occupational surname derived from Middle High German "schît," meaning a maker or seller of shields or armour.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,600 Americans carry the last name Scheidt. That puts it at #12,956 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,829 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scheidt 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
2.6K
1 in 131,829
Census rank
#12,956
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,267 bearers of the surname Scheidt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12956th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scheidt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scheidt
The surname SCHEIDT has its origins in Germany, and can be traced back to the 15th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old German word "scheide," meaning "a divide" or "a boundary," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a border or boundary.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SCHEIDT can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, dating back to the late 1400s. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony during this time period.
In the 16th century, the SCHEIDT name gained prominence with the birth of Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654), a renowned German composer and organist. His works were highly influential in the development of the Baroque style, and he is considered one of the most important composers of the early Baroque period.
Another notable figure with the SCHEIDT surname was Johann Scheidt (1624-1677), a German mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of theoretical astronomy and is known for his work on calculating the orbits of comets.
In the 18th century, Johann Philipp Scheidt (1714-1781) was a German jurist and legal scholar. He served as a judge in the Holy Roman Empire and published several important works on German law.
The SCHEIDT name also appears in historical records from the Netherlands, where it may have been adopted by German immigrants or families with German ancestry. One such example is Gerard Scheidt (1598-1673), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his portraits and genre scenes.
Moving into the 19th century, Johann Baptist Scheidt (1804-1872) was a German Catholic priest and theologian. He was a prominent figure in the Catholic revival movement in Germany and authored several works on Catholic theology and spirituality.
Throughout its history, the SCHEIDT surname has maintained a strong presence in Germany and other parts of Central Europe, with various spellings and variations emerging over time, such as Scheid, Scheidt, and Scheydt.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scheidt
Among Census respondents with the surname Scheidt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Scheidt 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 Scheidt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 2,038
- Two or more races4.5% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 35
- Black or African American0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scheidt
Scheidt 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
#12,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,528
+144 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 274 places
2020
#12,956
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,267
-261 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 660 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,022 | 2,384 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,296 | 2,528 | 0.86 | +144 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 274 places |
| 2020 | #12,956 | 2,267 | 0.76 | -261 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 660 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 Scheidt 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 | #12,296 | #12,956 | -5.4% |
| Count | 2,528 | 2,267 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.76 | -11.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scheidt bearers went from 2,528 to 2,267 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 660 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,296 to #12,956.
FAQ
Scheidt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scheidt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,600 living Americans carry the surname Scheidt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,829 residents.
How common is Scheidt?
Scheidt ranks #12,956 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,267 people with the surname Scheidt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,600), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Scheidt.
Has Scheidt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scheidt went from 2,528 recorded bearers to 2,267. That is a decrease of 261 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,296 to #12,956.
What does the Census say about the background of Scheidt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scheidt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Scheidt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (2,038 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scheidt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Scheidt (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 Scheidt mean?
A German occupational surname derived from Middle High German "schît," meaning a maker or seller of shields or armour. 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 Scheidt (0.76 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 share the surname Scheidt?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.