2000
#25,041
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 930
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Rare Last name
Bleier
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "blî" meaning lead or tin, possibly referring to a worker in that metal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,165 Americans carry the last name Bleier. That puts it at #25,489 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 294,210 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bleier 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
1.2K
1 in 294,210
Census rank
#25,489
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,016 bearers of the surname Bleier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 25489th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bleier, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bleier
The surname BLEIER is believed to have originated in Germany and Austria, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is derived from the German word "Bleier," which means "lead worker" or "lead miner," suggesting that the name's earliest bearers were involved in the mining or working of lead.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BLEIER can be found in the German state of Bavaria, where a family of lead miners was documented in the town of Oberstaufen in the late 16th century. The name was also prevalent in other German regions known for their lead mining activities, such as the Erzgebirge mountains and the Harz region.
In the 18th century, the name BLEIER appeared in several German church records, including those of the Protestant parish in Bamberg, where a Johann BLEIER was listed as a lead worker in 1723. Around the same time, a family named BLEIER was recorded in the town of Rosenheim, Bavaria, where they were engaged in the production of lead pipes and other lead-based products.
As the BLEIER family spread throughout German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, including BLEYER, BLEYER, and BLEYHER. These spelling variations often reflected regional dialects and local pronunciation differences.
One notable historical figure with the surname BLEIER was Johann Gottlieb BLEIER (1705-1776), a German architect and master builder from Saxony. He was responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in the Dresden area, including the Church of the Holy Cross in Dresden.
Another prominent bearer of the BLEIER name was Friedrich Wilhelm BLEIER (1790-1859), a German painter and lithographer from Berlin. He is known for his landscape paintings and lithographic prints depicting scenes from the Prussian countryside.
In the 19th century, members of the BLEIER family emigrated from Germany and Austria to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South America. One such emigrant was Johann BLEIER (1825-1901), who settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked as a lead miner and smelter.
Other notable individuals with the surname BLEIER include the Austrian writer and journalist Fritz BLEIER (1880-1966), known for his novels and short stories exploring life in rural Austria, and the German-American painter and sculptor Ludwig BLEIER (1897-1975), whose works were exhibited in various museums and galleries across the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bleier
Among Census respondents with the surname Bleier, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bleier 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 Bleier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 974
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 18
- Two or more races1.7% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 4
- Black or African American0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bleier
Bleier 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
#25,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 991
+61 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Down 23 places
2020
#25,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,016
+25 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Down 425 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,041 | 930 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #25,064 | 991 | 0.34 | +61 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 23 places |
| 2020 | #25,489 | 1,016 | 0.34 | +25 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 425 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 Bleier 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 | #25,064 | #25,489 | -1.7% |
| Count | 991 | 1,016 | 2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.34 | 0.34 | -0.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bleier bearers went from 991 to 1,016 (+2.5% change). The surname moved down 425 positions in the national ranking, going from #25,064 to #25,489.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bleier
FAQ
Bleier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bleier?
Name Census estimates that about 1,165 living Americans carry the surname Bleier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 294,210 residents.
How common is Bleier?
Bleier ranks #25,489 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.34 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 1,016 people with the surname Bleier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,165), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.34 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 Bleier.
Has Bleier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bleier went from 991 recorded bearers to 1,016. That is an increase of 25 (+2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #25,064 to #25,489.
What does the Census say about the background of Bleier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bleier, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Bleier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bleier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.9%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Bleier (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 Bleier mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "blî" meaning lead or tin, possibly referring to a worker in that metal. 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 Bleier (0.34 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 last name Bleier?
See how common the surname Bleier is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.