2000
#20,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,183
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Eisenstein
A surname deriving from the German words "eis" meaning iron and "stein" meaning stone, referring to an occupation relating to iron or blacksmithing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,266 Americans carry the last name Eisenstein. That puts it at #23,700 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 270,738 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eisenstein 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
1.3K
1 in 270,738
Census rank
#23,700
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,104 bearers of the surname Eisenstein in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23700th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eisenstein
The surname Eisenstein is of German origin, derived from the words "Eisen" meaning iron and "Stein" meaning stone. It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, and was initially used to identify individuals who worked with iron or lived near iron mines or quarries.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German records and documents from the 15th and 16th centuries. One notable mention is in the Augsburg Tax Registers of 1474, where a certain Hans Eisenstein is listed as a blacksmith residing in the city.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, such as Eisenstein, Eysenstein, and Eysenstain. Some of these variations were influenced by local dialects or the personal preferences of individual families.
The name Eisenstein has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Eisenstein (1523-1597), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of planetary motion and the development of the Gregorian calendar.
In the 19th century, Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (1898-1948) was a renowned Soviet filmmaker and film theorist, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. His revolutionary techniques and pioneering works, such as "Battleship Potemkin" and "Strike," had a profound impact on the art of filmmaking.
Another prominent bearer of the surname was Ferdinand Gotthold Max Eisenstein (1823-1852), a German mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry and the study of elliptic functions.
In the 20th century, Elizabeth Eisenstein (1923-2016) was a renowned American historian and academic, best known for her groundbreaking work "The Printing Press as an Agent of Change," which explored the impact of the printing revolution on early modern Europe.
The name Eisenstein has also been associated with various place names and locations in Germany, such as Eisenstein in Bavaria and Eisenstein in Saxony, further reinforcing its deep-rooted German heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eisenstein
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Eisenstein 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 Eisenstein surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 1,031
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 45
- Two or more races1.7% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 7
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eisenstein
Eisenstein 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
#21,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,236
+53 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Down 465 places
2020
#23,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,104
-132 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 2,472 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,763 | 1,183 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,228 | 1,236 | 0.42 | +53 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 465 places |
| 2020 | #23,700 | 1,104 | 0.37 | -132 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 2,472 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 Eisenstein 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 | #21,228 | #23,700 | -11.6% |
| Count | 1,236 | 1,104 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.37 | -12.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eisenstein bearers went from 1,236 to 1,104 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 2,472 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,228 to #23,700.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Eisenstein
FAQ
Eisenstein surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eisenstein?
Name Census estimates that about 1,266 living Americans carry the surname Eisenstein. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 270,738 residents.
How common is Eisenstein?
Eisenstein ranks #23,700 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 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 1,104 people with the surname Eisenstein. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,266), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 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 Eisenstein.
Has Eisenstein become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eisenstein went from 1,236 recorded bearers to 1,104. That is a decrease of 132 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,228 to #23,700.
What does the Census say about the background of Eisenstein?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eisenstein, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) 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 Eisenstein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (1,031 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eisenstein appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (4.1%), 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 Eisenstein (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 Eisenstein mean?
A surname deriving from the German words "eis" meaning iron and "stein" meaning stone, referring to an occupation relating to iron or blacksmithing. 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 Eisenstein (0.37 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 are called Eisenstein?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Eisenstein at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.