Explore the Family Name Meininger

The meaning of Meininger

German: habitational name for someone from Meiningen on the Werra river. The placename is derived from a personal name with magin ‘might, strength’ as the first element.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Meininger in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Meininger has seen a decline over the years. In 2000, Meininger ranked as the 24,386th most popular surname, with 962 individuals carrying it. However, by 2010, it had dropped to the 30,665th position, and the count of people carrying the surname decreased to 760. This represents a decrease in popularity of approximately 25.75 percent and a reduction in the number of bearers by 21 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#24,386	#30,665	-25.75%
Count	962	760	-21%
Proportion per 100k	0.36	0.26	-27.78%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Meininger

The Decennial U.S. Census also provides valuable information about the ethnicity associated with the surname Meininger. Predominantly, those with this surname are of White ethnicity, constituting 97.61 percent in 2000 and slightly reducing to 95.39 percent in 2010. Over the same period, there was a notable increase in the proportion of Meininger individuals identifying as Hispanic, rising from 0.62 percent to 1.45 percent. The data also shows a slight presence of Asian/Pacific Islander and individuals of two or more races bearing the Meininger surname, both at 1.58 percent in 2010. Data for Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities were either suppressed or non-existent in the given timeframe.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.61%	95.39%	-2.27%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.58%	0%
Two or More Races	0.73%	1.58%	116.44%
Hispanic	0.62%	1.45%	133.87%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%