Soehnlen last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Soehnlen is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Soehnlen.

Meaning of Soehnlen

A German surname denoting someone from Söhlen, a place name.

Soehnlen, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Soehnlen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Soehnlen in America

Soehnlen is the 105079th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Soehnlen surname appeared 170 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Soehnlen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Soehnlen to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank105079116123-9.99%
Count17013920.06%
Proportion per 100k0.060.0518.18%

The history of the last name Soehnlen

The surname SOEHNLEN is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated from the Lower Rhine region, which encompasses parts of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands.

SOEHNLEN is derived from the Old German word "sone," meaning "son," and the suffix "-len," which is a diminutive form used to indicate smallness or affection. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a "little son" or a young son within a family.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the archives of the city of Cologne, where a certain Hans SOEHNLEN is mentioned in a document dated 1387. This provides evidence that the surname was already in use during the late Middle Ages.

In the 16th century, the name appears in church records from the town of Mönchengladbach, located in the Lower Rhine region. A tombstone dated 1542 bears the inscription "Hier ruht Peter SOEHNLEN," indicating that a person by that name was buried there.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the SOEHNLEN surname began to spread beyond its original geographical boundaries. In 1672, a merchant named Johann SOEHNLEN is recorded as having traded goods between the cities of Cologne and Amsterdam.

One notable bearer of the name was Friedrich SOEHNLEN, a philosopher and theologian born in 1792 in the town of Düsseldorf. He is known for his writings on ethics and moral philosophy, and his works were widely studied in academic circles of the time.

Another prominent figure was Katharina SOEHNLEN, born in 1825 in the village of Willich, near Mönchengladbach. She was a pioneering educator and founded one of the first schools for girls in the region, which remained operational until the early 20th century.

In the 19th century, the SOEHNLEN name can be found in various military records from the Prussian and later German armies. Karl SOEHNLEN, born in 1847 in Bonn, served as a cavalry officer during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

As the 20th century dawned, the SOEHNLEN surname had become well-established across Germany and neighboring regions. Hans SOEHNLEN, born in 1904 in Cologne, was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in his hometown, including the Cologne City Hall annex.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Soehnlen

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Soehnlen.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Soehnlen was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only100.00%170
Non-Hispanic Black Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races0.00%0
Hispanic Origin0.00%0

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Soehnlen has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White100.00%99.00%1.01%
Black0.00%0.00%0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander0.00%0.00%0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races0.00%0.00%0.00%
Hispanic0.00%0.00%0.00%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Soehnlen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Soehnlen, please contact us.

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