2000
#14,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,812
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Seefeldt
A German locational surname derived from the town of Seefeld.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,043 Americans carry the last name Seefeldt. That puts it at #15,770 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,770 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seefeldt 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
2.0K
1 in 167,770
Census rank
#15,770
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,782 bearers of the surname Seefeldt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15770th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seefeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seefeldt
The surname Seefeldt is of German origin, derived from the Middle Low German words "se" meaning lake and "velt" meaning field or open land. It likely emerged during the medieval period as a topographic name, given to someone living near a lake or by a body of water surrounded by open fields.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 14th century in regions like East Prussia and Pomerania, where German settlers established communities. Variations in spelling like Seefelt, Seevelt, and Seefelde were common in old manuscripts and church records from these areas.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the Prussian Land Register, an important historical document listing landowners and their properties. One notable entry is Hans Seefeldt, a farmer residing in the village of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in 1542.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it became associated with certain locations, such as the town of Seefeld in Bavaria, which may have influenced some variant spellings like Seefelder.
A famous bearer of the name was Johann Seefeldt (1624-1687), a Lutheran theologian and author of several religious texts. Another notable figure was Wilhelm Seefeldt (1829-1892), a Prussian military officer who served in the Franco-Prussian War.
Other individuals of note include Karl Seefeldt (1842-1924), a German educator and school administrator, and Friedrich Seefeldt (1878-1954), a German-American architect known for his work in New York City.
In the 20th century, the name gained recognition through Kurt Seefeldt (1920-1998), a German lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Bundestag, the national parliament of West Germany.
While the surname Seefeldt originated in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities, carrying with it the historical connections to its topographic roots and the legacy of its notable bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seefeldt
Among Census respondents with the surname Seefeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Seefeldt 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 Seefeldt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 1,671
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 46
- Two or more races2.4% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seefeldt
Seefeldt 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
#15,970
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,818
+6 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 1,004 places
2020
#15,770
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,782
-36 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 200 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,966 | 1,812 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,970 | 1,818 | 0.62 | +6 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 1,004 places |
| 2020 | #15,770 | 1,782 | 0.60 | -36 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 200 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 Seefeldt 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 | #15,970 | #15,770 | 1.3% |
| Count | 1,818 | 1,782 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.60 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seefeldt bearers went from 1,818 to 1,782 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 200 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,970 to #15,770.
FAQ
Seefeldt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seefeldt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,043 living Americans carry the surname Seefeldt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,770 residents.
How common is Seefeldt?
Seefeldt ranks #15,770 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,782 people with the surname Seefeldt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,043), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Seefeldt.
Has Seefeldt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seefeldt went from 1,818 recorded bearers to 1,782. That is a decrease of 36 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,970 to #15,770.
What does the Census say about the background of Seefeldt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seefeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Seefeldt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (1,671 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seefeldt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Seefeldt (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 Seefeldt mean?
A German locational surname derived from the town of Seefeld. 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 Seefeldt (0.60 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 Seefeldt?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.