2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Friesth
A habitational name from a place with the Old German word "Fries" meaning "Frisian" or "of Frisian origin".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Friesth. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friesth 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Friesth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friesth, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friesth
The surname Friesth has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Friese," which means "Frisian" or someone from the region of Friesland in the northern Netherlands and northwestern Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Friesth can be found in the baptismal records of the St. Petri Church in Hamburg, Germany, where a certain Hans Friesth was baptized in 1592. This suggests that the name had already established itself in the region by the late 16th century.
The name Friesth is also linked to the ancient Frisian language, spoken by the Frisian people who inhabited the coastal regions of what is now the Netherlands and Germany. It is possible that the name originated as a descriptive term for someone who spoke the Frisian language or hailed from the Frisian lands.
In the late 17th century, a family by the name of Friesth is recorded as living in the town of Lübeck, located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. One notable figure from this family was Johann Friesth (1642-1718), a merchant and alderman who played a significant role in the city's governance during his lifetime.
Another prominent individual with the surname Friesth was Friedrich Wilhelm Friesth (1766-1842), a German writer and theologian who authored several works on religious and philosophical subjects. He was born in Schleswig and spent much of his life in the region, contributing to the intellectual and cultural landscape of the time.
In the 19th century, the name Friesth can be found in historical records from other parts of Germany, such as the city of Cologne, where a certain Maximilian Friesth (1824-1901) was a renowned artist and painter. His works were exhibited in various galleries across Europe, earning him recognition as a skilled portraitist and landscape painter.
Over the centuries, the surname Friesth has also been associated with various place names in Germany and the Netherlands. For instance, the village of Friestedten in the German state of Lower Saxony is believed to have derived its name from the Frisian settlers who once inhabited the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friesth
Among Census respondents with the surname Friesth, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Friesth 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 Friesth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.4% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friesth
Friesth 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+6 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,300 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+14 bearers (+13.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,319 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 3,300 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.1%) | Up 11,319 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 Friesth 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 | #152,628 | #141,309 | 7.4% |
| Count | 107 | 121 | 13.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friesth bearers went from 107 to 121 (+13.1% change). The surname moved up 11,319 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #141,309.
FAQ
Friesth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friesth?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Friesth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Friesth?
Friesth ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 121 people with the surname Friesth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Friesth.
Has Friesth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friesth went from 107 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 14 (+13.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Friesth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friesth, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Friesth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friesth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.4%), Hispanic (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Friesth (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 Friesth mean?
A habitational name from a place with the Old German word "Fries" meaning "Frisian" or "of Frisian origin". 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 Friesth (0.04 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 common is the surname Friesth?
You can see how common the surname Friesth is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.