2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Schmedes
A surname potentially derived from the German word "Schmied" meaning smith or metalworker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Schmedes. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schmedes 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Schmedes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmedes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schmedes
The surname SCHMEDES has its origins tracing back to the Germanic regions of Europe, particularly in the areas of modern-day Germany and Switzerland. The earliest known records suggest that the name emerged around the 12th century during the Middle Ages.
SCHMEDES is believed to be a locational surname, derived from the name of a specific place or region. One possible source is the town of Schmiede, located in the German state of Brandenburg. The name "Schmiede" itself comes from the German word "schmieden," meaning "to forge" or "to smith," suggesting that the original bearers of the name may have been associated with blacksmithing or metalworking professions.
Another theory traces the origin of the surname to the Old High German word "smidde," which also means "forge" or "smithy." This lends further credence to the potential connection between the SCHMEDES name and metalworking trades in medieval times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SCHMEDES surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. In this codex, a certain "Heinricus Schmedes" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1280.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in the form of "Smedis" in the Stadtbuch von Freiburg, a historical record book from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This variation of the name suggests a potential link to the town of Schmiede or the word "schmieden."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the SCHMEDES surname. One such figure was Johann Schmedes (1624-1693), a German theologian and academic who served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg in the late 17th century.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Karl Schmedes (1794-1869), a German painter and lithographer who gained recognition for his landscape paintings and illustrations during the Romantic era.
In the 20th century, Hans Schmedes (1907-1978) was a German architect and urban planner who made significant contributions to the reconstruction efforts in Germany following World War II.
Additionally, Erich Schmedes (1909-1985) was a German economist and professor who specialized in agricultural economics and rural sociology at the University of Göttingen.
Lastly, Artur Schmedes (1918-1995) was a German artist known for his abstract expressionist paintings and his involvement in the German avant-garde art movement during the post-war period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schmedes
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmedes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Schmedes 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 Schmedes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 97
- Black or African American12.2% · 14
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schmedes
Schmedes 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
+6 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,431 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-14 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,378 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 3,431 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 14,378 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 Schmedes 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 | #131,379 | #145,757 | -10.9% |
| Count | 129 | 115 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schmedes bearers went from 129 to 115 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 14,378 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #145,757.
FAQ
Schmedes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schmedes?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Schmedes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Schmedes?
Schmedes ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Schmedes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Schmedes.
Has Schmedes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schmedes went from 129 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Schmedes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmedes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Schmedes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schmedes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Black (12.2%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Schmedes (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 Schmedes mean?
A surname potentially derived from the German word "Schmied" meaning smith or metalworker. 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 Schmedes (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 share the surname Schmedes?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.