2000
#10,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,865
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Friedlander
A Jewish habitational surname derived from German, referring to someone from a place of peace or safety.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,237 Americans carry the last name Friedlander. That puts it at #10,795 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,886 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friedlander 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Friedlander with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 105,886
Census rank
#10,795
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,823 bearers of the surname Friedlander in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10795th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedlander, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friedlander
The surname Friedlander originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German words "Friede," meaning "peace," and "Land," meaning "land" or "country." The name likely referred to someone who lived in a peaceful region or a settler in a newly established peaceful area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Friedlander can be found in a document from the city of Nuremberg, dated 1287, which mentions a merchant named Hans Friedlander. Another early reference is a record from the town of Bamberg in 1311, which lists a landowner named Jakob Friedlander.
The name Friedlander has also been spelled in various ways throughout history, including Friedländer, Friedlaender, and Fridelander. These variations can be attributed to regional dialects and scribal errors in historical records.
Notable individuals with the surname Friedlander include:
1. David Friedlander (1750-1834), a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian known for his work on Jewish ethics and philosophy.
2. Max Friedlander (1829-1902), a German art historian and critic, best known for his work on Renaissance art and artists.
3. Immanuel Friedlander (1871-1948), a German-Jewish philosopher and scholar, who made significant contributions to the study of medieval Jewish philosophy.
4. Walter Friedlander (1873-1966), a German-American historian and author, known for his work on medieval and Renaissance history.
5. Eva Friedlander (1880-1966), a German-Jewish artist and sculptor, known for her expressive bronze sculptures and drawings.
Some place names associated with the surname Friedlander include Friedland, a town in northeastern Germany, and Friedländer, a village in Bavaria, Germany. These locations may have influenced the name's development or served as places of origin for some families bearing this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friedlander
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedlander, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Friedlander 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 Friedlander surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 2,533
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 99
- Two or more races2.8% · 79
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 43
- Black or African American0.7% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friedlander
Friedlander 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
#11,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,878
+13 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 740 places
2020
#10,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,823
-55 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 252 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,307 | 2,865 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,047 | 2,878 | 0.98 | +13 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 740 places |
| 2020 | #10,795 | 2,823 | 0.94 | -55 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 252 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 Friedlander 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 | #11,047 | #10,795 | 2.3% |
| Count | 2,878 | 2,823 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.94 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friedlander bearers went from 2,878 to 2,823 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 252 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,047 to #10,795.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Friedlander
FAQ
Friedlander surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friedlander?
Name Census estimates that about 3,237 living Americans carry the surname Friedlander. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,886 residents.
How common is Friedlander?
Friedlander ranks #10,795 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,823 people with the surname Friedlander. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,237), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Friedlander.
Has Friedlander become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friedlander went from 2,878 recorded bearers to 2,823. That is a decrease of 55 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,047 to #10,795.
What does the Census say about the background of Friedlander?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedlander, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Friedlander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,533 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friedlander appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Friedlander (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 Friedlander mean?
A Jewish habitational surname derived from German, referring to someone from a place of peace or safety. 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 Friedlander (0.94 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 Friedlander?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.