2000
#9,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,254
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.21
Rare Last name
Absher
Derived from the German surname Abshier, meaning "one who came from Abshoven," a village in Lower Saxony.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,663 Americans carry the last name Absher. That puts it at #9,700 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Absher 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
3.7K
1 in 93,572
Census rank
#9,700
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,194 bearers of the surname Absher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9700th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Absher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Absher
Among Census respondents with the surname Absher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Absher 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 Absher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,919
- Two or more races4.5% · 144
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 68
- Black or African American0.9% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Absher
Absher 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
#9,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,407
+153 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 323 places
2020
#9,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,194
-213 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 156 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,221 | 3,254 | 1.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,544 | 3,407 | 1.15 | +153 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 323 places |
| 2020 | #9,700 | 3,194 | 1.07 | -213 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 156 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 Absher 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 | #9,544 | #9,700 | -1.6% |
| Count | 3,407 | 3,194 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.15 | 1.07 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Absher bearers went from 3,407 to 3,194 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 156 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,544 to #9,700.
FAQ
Absher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Absher?
Name Census estimates that about 3,663 living Americans carry the surname Absher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,572 residents.
How common is Absher?
Absher ranks #9,700 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,194 people with the surname Absher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,663), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Absher.
Has Absher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Absher went from 3,407 recorded bearers to 3,194. That is a decrease of 213 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,544 to #9,700.
What does the Census say about the background of Absher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Absher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Absher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,919 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Absher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Absher (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 Absher mean?
Derived from the German surname Abshier, meaning "one who came from Abshoven," a village in Lower Saxony. 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 Absher (1.07 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 many people have the last name Absher?
Find out how many people have the last name Absher on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.