2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Scholder
An occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "scholler" meaning a beadle or bailiff.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Scholder. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scholder 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Scholder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scholder, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scholder
The surname Scholder has its origins in Germany, with records of the name dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "schild," meaning shield, and the suffix "-er," which denotes a person or occupation. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who made or carried shields, potentially a shield bearer or armorer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Scholder surname can be found in the town records of Nürnberg, Germany, from the year 1567. These records mention a "Hans Scholder," who was a local resident of the town. Additionally, the name appears in various other German records from the 16th and 17th centuries, indicating its widespread use during this period.
The Scholder name has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Johann Scholder, a German composer and organist who lived from 1616 to 1667. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of baroque music and his work as the organist at the St. Nikolai Church in Berlin.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Scholder, a German painter and sculptor who lived from 1792 to 1868. He is best known for his neoclassical works and his sculptures adorning public buildings in Berlin and other German cities.
In the 19th century, the Scholder name gained prominence in the United States with the arrival of German immigrants. One noteworthy individual was Wilhelm Scholder, a German-American artist and painter who lived from 1846 to 1901. He is particularly recognized for his landscape paintings depicting the American West and his contributions to the Hudson River School of painting.
More recently, Fritz Scholder, an American artist of Luiseño descent, gained recognition for his influential works depicting Native American subjects. Born in 1937 and active throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Scholder played a significant role in the contemporary Native American art movement.
While the Scholder surname may have its roots in Germany, it has since spread across various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name contributing to diverse fields such as art, music, and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scholder
Among Census respondents with the surname Scholder, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Scholder 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 Scholder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 104
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scholder
Scholder 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,423 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,001 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 16,423 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,001 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 Scholder 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 | #145,220 | #147,221 | -1.4% |
| Count | 114 | 113 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scholder bearers went from 114 to 113 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,001 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #147,221.
FAQ
Scholder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scholder?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Scholder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Scholder?
Scholder ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Scholder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Scholder.
Has Scholder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scholder went from 114 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Scholder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scholder, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Scholder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scholder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Scholder (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 Scholder mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "scholler" meaning a beadle or bailiff. 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 Scholder (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 have the surname Scholder?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.