2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tietgen
A surname of Germanic origin meaning someone from an area surrounded by wetlands or marshes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Tietgen. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tietgen 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Tietgen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tietgen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tietgen
The surname Tietgen is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "tiet," meaning "people," and "gen," meaning "kin" or "family." It is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, Germany, during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Tietgen can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in reference to a landowner named Heinrich Tietgen in the year 1287.
In the 14th century, there are records of a family named Tietgen residing in the town of Zwickau, Saxony. They were prominent citizens and merchants in the region, and their name can be found in various municipal records and chronicles from that time.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure with the surname Tietgen was Hans Tietgen (1529-1599), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg and was a close associate of Martin Luther.
Another prominent individual with the Tietgen surname was Carl Ferdinand Tietgen (1815-1901), a Danish businessman and financier who was instrumental in the industrialization of Denmark. He founded several companies, including the Great Northern Telegraph Company and the East Asiatic Company, and was involved in the construction of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.
In the 19th century, the Tietgen surname was also associated with the German-American artist and architect, Johann Tietgen (1823-1895), who immigrated to the United States and designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Old First Reformed Church.
Other notable individuals with the surname Tietgen include the German-American journalist and author, Gustav Tietgen (1868-1946), who wrote extensively about German culture and emigration to the United States, and the German musician and composer, Hans-Christoph Tietgen (born 1959), known for his work in experimental and electronic music.
While the surname Tietgen is not among the most common surnames, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been associated with individuals from various fields, including religion, business, art, and literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tietgen
Among Census respondents with the surname Tietgen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tietgen 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 Tietgen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 6
- Two or more races5.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tietgen
Tietgen 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,953 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-6 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,913 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 15,953 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 1,913 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 Tietgen 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 | #153,769 | #155,682 | -1.2% |
| Count | 106 | 100 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tietgen bearers went from 106 to 100 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 1,913 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,682.
FAQ
Tietgen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tietgen?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Tietgen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Tietgen?
Tietgen ranks #155,682 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 100 people with the surname Tietgen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), 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 Tietgen.
Has Tietgen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tietgen went from 106 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Tietgen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tietgen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Tietgen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tietgen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (6.0%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Tietgen (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 Tietgen mean?
A surname of Germanic origin meaning someone from an area surrounded by wetlands or marshes. 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 Tietgen (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 many people have the surname Tietgen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.