The Meissner surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,097 people carried this name — #8,093 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 71,900 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (4,116).
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Meissner surname
German
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Meissner» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
577 people named Meissner have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 717 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 14 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
263 people named Meissner live in Switzerland.
They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 166 people named Meissner.
44 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 94 people named Meissner live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Misiones.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
84 people named Meissner is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Meissner,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Daniel Meisner 1585–1625 · writer -
Heinrich Meissner 1644–1716 · mathematician -
Gottfried Meissner d. 1690 · pastor
-
Richard Meissner d. 1915 · botanist
-
Johann Heinrich Meissner 1700–1770 · sculptor
-
Johann Heinrich Meissner 1701–1770 · sculptor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Meissner.
- Meiller 243 · U.S. census
- Meilleur 340 · U.S. census
- Meinhard 120 · U.S. census
- Meireles 284 · U.S. census
- Meiser 1,565 · U.S. census
- Meiss 374 · U.S. census
- Meister 7,885 · U.S. census
- Mejean 117 · U.S. census
- Mejias 4,472 · U.S. census
- Mel 310 · U.S. census
- Mela 260 · U.S. census
- Melan 204 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Meissner is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.