2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Schoenbein
German surname derived from words meaning "beautiful" and "meadow", likely describing someone living near an attractive field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Schoenbein. 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 Schoenbein 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 Schoenbein 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 Schoenbein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schoenbein
The surname Schoenbein originated in Germany, where it was first recorded in the 16th century. It is derived from the German words "schön" meaning "beautiful" and "bein" meaning "leg" or "bone," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone with attractive or well-formed legs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the city of Frankfurt am Main from the late 1500s, where a family with the surname Schoenbein is mentioned as residing in the city.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various records and documents from the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The spelling variations included Schönbein, Schönbain, and Schönbayn.
Notable individuals with the surname Schoenbein include Christian Friedrich Schoenbein (1799-1868), a German-Swiss chemist who discovered guncotton and is considered a pioneer in the field of explosives. He was born in Metzingen, Württemberg, and later became a professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland.
Another individual of note is Max Schoenbein (1904-1988), a German-American nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II and later became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
In the 18th century, the surname Schoenbein is recorded in various German church records and tax rolls from villages and towns in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia.
A notable family with the surname Schoenbein hailed from the town of Meiningen in Thuringia, where they were landowners and merchants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In the 19th century, individuals with the surname Schoenbein began to emigrate from Germany to other parts of Europe and North America. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States can be found in census records from the 1850s, where families with the surname Schoenbein are listed as residing in cities such as Cincinnati, Ohio, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schoenbein
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoenbein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Schoenbein 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 Schoenbein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 5
- Two or more races4.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schoenbein
Schoenbein 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,734 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-6 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,261 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 9,734 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 8,261 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 Schoenbein 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 | #133,048 | #141,309 | -6.2% |
| Count | 127 | 121 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schoenbein bearers went from 127 to 121 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 8,261 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #141,309.
FAQ
Schoenbein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schoenbein?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Schoenbein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Schoenbein?
Schoenbein 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 Schoenbein. 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 Schoenbein.
Has Schoenbein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schoenbein went from 127 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Schoenbein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoenbein, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Schoenbein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schoenbein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Schoenbein (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 Schoenbein mean?
German surname derived from words meaning "beautiful" and "meadow", likely describing someone living near an attractive field. 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 Schoenbein (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 Schoenbein?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.