Find out how popular the last name Absher is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Absher.

Absher, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Absher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Absher in America

Absher is the 9544th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Absher surname appeared 3,407 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Absher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Absher to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Absher

The surname Absher originated in Germany in the early 15th century. It is derived from the German word "abscher," meaning "one who lives apart or separate." This suggests the name initially referred to someone who lived in a secluded or remote location.

The earliest known record of the Absher name dates back to 1428 in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Johannes Abscher was mentioned in the town's tax records. In the following decades, variations like Abscherin, Abscheryn, and Abschermann appeared in various German regions.

In the late 16th century, the Absher surname started appearing in church records and legal documents across southern Germany, particularly in the areas around Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and Munich. Notable early bearers include Hans Abscher (1532-1601), a master woodcarver from Augsburg, and Anna Abscherin (1587-1648), a midwife from Regensburg.

As the name spread, it took on variations like Absher, Abshier, and Abshere in different regions. One of the earliest instances of the Americanized spelling "Absher" is found in the 1683 records of Pennsylvania, where Johannes Absher is listed as an early German settler.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the name continued to appear across German-speaking areas of Europe. Prominent individuals with the surname include Georg Absher (1718-1789), a Lutheran theologian from Saxony; Wilhelm Absher (1842-1919), a Prussian military officer; and Maria Absher (1866-1932), an Austrian concert pianist.

Other notable bearers of the Absher name include American philosopher James Absher (1876-1957), British architect Henry Absher (1898-1972), and German-American novelist Katrina Absher (1922-2003). The name has since spread globally, though its roots can be traced back to its German origins in the early 1400s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Absher

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Absher.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Absher was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Absher has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Absher was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Absher, please contact us.

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