Explore the Family Name Leopold
The meaning of Leopold
German, Dutch, Czech, and Polish; French (Léopold): from an ancient Germanic personal name, Luitpold, composed of the elements liut ‘people’ + bald ‘bold, brave’. The form of the first element has been influenced by the name Leonhard. The surname is also borne by Ashkenazic Jews, in which case it is an adoption of the German personal name as a surname. Some characteristic forenames: German Otto, Kurt, Gunter, Lorenz, Alois, Aloysius, Franz, Fritz, Gerhard, Heinz, Hermann, Herta.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Leopold in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Leopold has seen slight shifts in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 7560th in popularity among all surnames in the United States and rose slightly to the 7536th position in 2010, a marginal increase of 0.32%. The number of people carrying this surname grew by 8.75%, from 4056 in 2000 to 4411 in 2010. However, the proportion of Leopolds per 100,000 people remained steady at 1.5.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,560 | #7,536 | 0.32% |
| Count | 4,056 | 4,411 | 8.75% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Leopold
When it comes to ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows a few changes for the Leopolds between 2000 and 2010. The largest change occurred in the Asian/Pacific Islander category, which saw an increase of 110.14%, from 0.69% to 1.45%. The Hispanic community also saw a notable rise of 49.27%, from 2.05% to 3.06%. The representation of Leopolds identifying as Black slightly increased by 4.44%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native category rose by 42.86%. On the other hand, the percentage of those identified as White decreased by 2.25%, and the "two or more races" category saw a decline of 24.14%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 89.08% | 87.08% | -2.25% |
| Black | 6.53% | 6.82% | 4.44% |
| Hispanic | 2.05% | 3.06% | 49.27% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.69% | 1.45% | 110.14% |
| Two or More Races | 1.16% | 0.88% | -24.14% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.49% | 0.7% | 42.86% |
Leopold ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Leopold is British & Irish, which comprises 28.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (25.2%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (22.8%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 28.1% |
| French & German | 25.2% |
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 22.8% |
| Other | 23.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Leopold
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Leopold have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 62.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 62.20% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 62.20% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 62.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 62.20% |
What Leopold haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Leopold is R-P312, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P312 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include I-L460 and E-M5021, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Haber, Lazarus, Wald, Schlesinger, Sand, Abrahams, Wiener, Scharf, Sachs, Hyman.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Leopold surname are: K1a1b1a, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara
Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.
What do people with the surname Leopold have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Leopold" Surname 31.8%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Leopold" Surname 43.5%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Habits
Vitamin Use
Takes vitamins on a regular basis.
"Leopold" Surname 35.0%
23andMe Users 45.5%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Leopold" Surname 16.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Leopold?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Leopold are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition