2000
#15,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,729
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Eisenhart
A surname indicating someone who lived near an iron deposit or mineworking.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,764 Americans carry the last name Eisenhart. That puts it at #17,916 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 194,305 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eisenhart 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
1.8K
1 in 194,305
Census rank
#17,916
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,538 bearers of the surname Eisenhart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17916th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenhart, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eisenhart
The surname Eisenhart has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "eisen," meaning iron, and "hart," meaning hard or tough. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked as an ironmonger or blacksmith.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Eisenhart can be traced back to the 13th century in regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. Similar spellings, such as Eisenhardt and Eisenhart, were also prevalent during this time period.
One of the earliest known references to the name Eisenhart can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dated around 1280. This record mentions an individual named Henricus Eisenhart, indicating the presence of the surname in this region.
In the 15th century, the name Eisenhart appeared in the chronicles of the city of Nuremberg, where a prominent citizen named Hans Eisenhart was recorded as a successful merchant and landowner. His legacy lived on through his descendants, including his son, Konrad Eisenhart (1472-1538), who served as a city councilor.
Another notable figure with the surname Eisenhart was Johann Georg Eisenhart (1631-1698), a German theologian and author from Saxony. He wrote several influential works on Protestant theology and served as a professor at the University of Leipzig.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Eisenhart was also found in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Hesse and Baden-Württemberg. One example is Johann Kaspar Eisenhart (1716-1794), a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Hesse, who published numerous works on civil law.
In the 19th century, the Eisenhart surname was associated with several accomplished individuals, such as Karl Friedrich Eisenhart (1801-1871), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
Throughout its history, the surname Eisenhart has maintained a strong presence in Germany, with various branches of the family tree spreading across different regions. While the name may have originated from an occupational description, it has since evolved to become a distinct and recognizable surname in its own right.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eisenhart
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenhart, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Eisenhart 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 Eisenhart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 1,429
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 62
- Two or more races1.6% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 11
- Black or African American0.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eisenhart
Eisenhart 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
#15,663
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,864
+135 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 133 places
2020
#17,916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,538
-326 bearers (-17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.51
Rank movement Down 2,253 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,530 | 1,729 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,663 | 1,864 | 0.63 | +135 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 133 places |
| 2020 | #17,916 | 1,538 | 0.51 | -326 bearers (-17.5%) | Down 2,253 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 Eisenhart 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 | #15,663 | #17,916 | -14.4% |
| Count | 1,864 | 1,538 | -17.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.51 | -18.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eisenhart bearers went from 1,864 to 1,538 (-17.5% change). The surname moved down 2,253 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,663 to #17,916.
FAQ
Eisenhart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eisenhart?
Name Census estimates that about 1,764 living Americans carry the surname Eisenhart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 194,305 residents.
How common is Eisenhart?
Eisenhart ranks #17,916 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.51 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 1,538 people with the surname Eisenhart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,764), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.51 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 Eisenhart.
Has Eisenhart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eisenhart went from 1,864 recorded bearers to 1,538. That is a decrease of 326 (-17.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,663 to #17,916.
What does the Census say about the background of Eisenhart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenhart, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Eisenhart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (1,429 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eisenhart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Eisenhart (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 Eisenhart mean?
A surname indicating someone who lived near an iron deposit or mineworking. 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 Eisenhart (0.51 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 Eisenhart?
If you just want to know how common the surname Eisenhart is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.