2000
#80,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 220
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Vierthaler
A locative surname derived from a place name containing the element "viertel" meaning "quarter" or "fourth part".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 268 Americans carry the last name Vierthaler. That puts it at #85,854 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,278,934 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vierthaler 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
268
1 in 1,278,934
Census rank
#85,854
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
234
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 234 bearers of the surname Vierthaler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 85854th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vierthaler, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vierthaler
The surname Vierthaler originates from the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely originating in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the German words "viertel" meaning "quarter" and "taler" meaning a type of coin or currency, suggesting the name may have referred to someone who dealt in quarters of a specific currency or worked as a tax collector.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a German document from the city of Nuremberg in 1458, which mentions a "Hans Vierthaler" as a resident. This indicates that the name was already in use in Southern Germany during the 15th century.
In the 16th century, records show a Vierthaler family living in the town of Füssen, located near the Austrian border in Bavaria. This suggests that the name may have spread from Southern Germany into neighboring regions such as Austria or Switzerland.
A notable early bearer of the name was Johann Vierthaler, a German composer and organist who lived from 1624 to 1688 and was active in the city of Nuremberg. His compositions for organ and other instruments were renowned during his lifetime.
Another historical figure with this surname was Matthias Vierthaler, a German monk and theologian who lived from 1655 to 1722. He was a member of the Benedictine order and authored several works on religious philosophy and theology.
In the 19th century, a Vierthaler family was documented as living in the town of Radstadt in the Austrian state of Salzburg. This indicates that the name had spread to different parts of the German-speaking world by this time.
One of the earliest known instances of the Vierthaler name in the United States can be traced back to Johann Vierthaler, who immigrated from Bavaria to Pennsylvania in 1832 at the age of 22. He went on to become a farmer and raised a family in the state.
Throughout its history, the Vierthaler surname has also had variations in spelling such as Viertaler, Viertahler, and Vierthaaler, likely due to regional dialects and changes in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vierthaler
Among Census respondents with the surname Vierthaler, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Vierthaler 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 Vierthaler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 207
- Two or more races6.4% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vierthaler
Vierthaler 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
#83,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 226
+6 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 3,010 places
2020
#85,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 234
+8 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 2,628 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #80,216 | 220 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #83,226 | 226 | 0.08 | +6 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 3,010 places |
| 2020 | #85,854 | 234 | 0.08 | +8 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 2,628 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 Vierthaler 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 | #83,226 | #85,854 | -3.2% |
| Count | 226 | 234 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vierthaler bearers went from 226 to 234 (+3.5% change). The surname moved down 2,628 positions in the national ranking, going from #83,226 to #85,854.
FAQ
Vierthaler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vierthaler?
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the surname Vierthaler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,278,934 residents.
How common is Vierthaler?
Vierthaler ranks #85,854 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 234 people with the surname Vierthaler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Vierthaler.
Has Vierthaler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vierthaler went from 226 recorded bearers to 234. That is an increase of 8 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #83,226 to #85,854.
What does the Census say about the background of Vierthaler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vierthaler, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). 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 Vierthaler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (207 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vierthaler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Two or More Races (6.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). 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 Vierthaler (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 Vierthaler mean?
A locative surname derived from a place name containing the element "viertel" meaning "quarter" or "fourth part". 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 Vierthaler (0.08 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 share the surname Vierthaler?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.