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

Zellner, 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 Zellner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zellner in America

Zellner is the 9511th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zellner surname appeared 3,417 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Zellner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zellner 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.

The history of the last name Zellner

The surname Zellner originated in the German states of Bavaria and Saxony during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Zoll," which means "toll" or "customs duty." The name likely referred to someone who worked as a toll collector or customs officer.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Zellner can be found in medieval German records and documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is a mention of a "Johannes Zollner" in a 1297 legal document from the city of Nuremberg.

The name Zellner is also closely linked to various place names in Germany, such as Zell, Zella, and Zellenberg. These place names often referred to locations near toll stations or customs posts. In some cases, the surname may have originated as a locative name, indicating a person's place of origin or residence.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Zellner. One of the earliest was Hans Zellner (c. 1450-1522), a German painter and engraver active in Nuremberg during the Renaissance. Another was Johann Zellner (1596-1662), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of logarithms.

In the 19th century, Gustav Zellner (1823-1901) was a German-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in New York City, including the New York Historical Society building. Around the same time, Karl Alfred von Zittel (1839-1904), a German paleontologist and geologist, was born with the surname Zittel but later changed it to Zellner.

More recently, Harriet Zellner (1909-2001) was an American artist and printmaker known for her abstract works, while Jonathan Zellner (born 1967) is a contemporary American filmmaker and producer.

While the surname Zellner has its roots in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and migration. However, the core meaning and historical significance of the name remain tied to its origins as a reference to toll collection or customs duties in medieval Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zellner

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

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 Zellner was:

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 Zellner has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Zellner was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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