2000
#12,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,339
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Zehner
Derived from the German word for "ten," likely referring to a tenth child, a tithe collector, or a house number.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,521 Americans carry the last name Zehner. That puts it at #13,289 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zehner 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
2.5K
1 in 135,960
Census rank
#13,289
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,198 bearers of the surname Zehner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13289th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zehner, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zehner
The surname Zehner is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where it was first recorded. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "zehener," which means "the tenth one" or "a group of ten."
In medieval times, the name was likely used to refer to a person who was responsible for overseeing a group of ten workers or soldiers. It may also have been given to a person who was born as the tenth child in a family. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be "Zehner" in a document from the town of Nürnberg, dated 1527.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Zehner comes from a land registry in the town of Augsburg, dating back to the late 16th century. This registry lists a farmer named Hans Zehner, who owned a small plot of land near the town's outskirts. Another early mention of the name can be found in the parish records of the village of Kirchheim unter Teck, where a man named Georg Zehner is listed as a member of the local church in 1612.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Zehner began to spread across various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Rhineland-Palatinate. Notable individuals with the surname Zehner from this period include Johann Jakob Zehner (1651-1723), a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Tübingen, and Andreas Zehner (1714-1778), a celebrated composer and organist from the city of Heidelberg.
As the name Zehner continued to spread throughout Germany, it also found its way into other parts of Europe and eventually to other continents. In the late 19th century, a German immigrant named Karl Zehner (1845-1912) settled in the United States and established a successful farming business in the state of Ohio. Another notable individual with the surname Zehner was the Austrian artist and illustrator Franz Zehner (1865-1938), who was renowned for his intricate etchings and woodcuts.
Other prominent individuals with the surname Zehner include the German politician and diplomat Kurt Zehner (1889-1964), who served as the ambassador to the United States during World War II, and the American entrepreneur and philanthropist John Zehner (1920-2005), who founded the successful computer software company Zehner Corporation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zehner
Among Census respondents with the surname Zehner, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Zehner 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 Zehner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 1,988
- Two or more races4.7% · 103
- Black or African American2.4% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zehner
Zehner 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
#13,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,350
+11 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 852 places
2020
#13,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,198
-152 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 224 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,213 | 2,339 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,065 | 2,350 | 0.80 | +11 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 852 places |
| 2020 | #13,289 | 2,198 | 0.74 | -152 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 224 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 Zehner 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 | #13,065 | #13,289 | -1.7% |
| Count | 2,350 | 2,198 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.74 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zehner bearers went from 2,350 to 2,198 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 224 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,065 to #13,289.
FAQ
Zehner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zehner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,521 living Americans carry the surname Zehner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,960 residents.
How common is Zehner?
Zehner ranks #13,289 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,198 people with the surname Zehner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,521), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Zehner.
Has Zehner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zehner went from 2,350 recorded bearers to 2,198. That is a decrease of 152 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,065 to #13,289.
What does the Census say about the background of Zehner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zehner, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (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 Zehner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (1,988 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zehner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Black (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 Zehner (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 Zehner mean?
Derived from the German word for "ten," likely referring to a tenth child, a tithe collector, or a house number. 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 Zehner (0.74 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 Zehner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.