2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Schoeni
A surname denoting someone of Swiss German descent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Schoeni. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schoeni 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Schoeni in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoeni, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schoeni
The surname SCHOENI originated in Switzerland in the late medieval period. The earliest recorded examples date back to the 14th century in the Swiss cantons of Bern and Solothurn. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "schön," meaning beautiful or fair. It was likely originally a descriptive nickname given to someone with an attractive appearance.
The SCHOENI surname is found in various Swiss records and manuscripts from the 15th century onwards. One notable early bearer was Hans Schöni, a citizen of Bern who lived in the early 1400s and served as a city councilor. Another was Jakob Schöni, a monk and scribe from Solothurn who copied several religious texts in the late 1400s.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name spread to other parts of Switzerland, including the cantons of Zurich and Lucerne. In the 1500s, a family of SCHOENI farmers lived in the village of Sarmenstorf near Zurich. One member, Ulrich Schöni (1520-1588), was a respected landowner and community leader.
In the 1600s, the SCHOENI name appears in records from the town of Entlebuch in the canton of Lucerne. A notable bearer was Hans Rudolf Schöni (1635-1704), a successful merchant and magistrate who served as mayor of Entlebuch in the late 17th century.
The 19th century saw SCHOENI families establish themselves in other European countries. Johann Schöni (1805-1867), a Swiss immigrant to Germany, became a prosperous brewer in the city of Munich. In England, William Schoeni (1832-1911) was a watchmaker of Swiss descent who lived in London.
Other notable people with the SCHOENI surname include the 20th century Swiss writer and poet Carl Schöni (1901-1957), and the German-born American physicist Walter Schöni (1903-1988), who made contributions to the field of semiconductor physics. The name SCHOENI maintains a strong presence in its ancestral homeland of Switzerland to this day.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schoeni
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoeni, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Schoeni 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 Schoeni surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 4
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schoeni
Schoeni appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,442 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 4,442 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 Schoeni 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 | #159,712 | #155,270 | 2.8% |
| Count | 101 | 101 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schoeni bearers went from 101 to 101 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 4,442 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #155,270.
FAQ
Schoeni surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schoeni?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Schoeni. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Schoeni?
Schoeni ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Schoeni. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Schoeni.
Has Schoeni become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schoeni went from 101 recorded bearers to 101. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Schoeni?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoeni, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Schoeni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schoeni appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Schoeni (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 Schoeni mean?
A surname denoting someone of Swiss German descent. 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 Schoeni (0.03 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 common is the surname Schoeni?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Schoeni on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.