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

Achter, 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 Achter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Achter in America

Achter is the 63373rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Achter surname appeared 315 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Achter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Achter 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 Achter

The surname ACHTER has its origins in the Dutch language and can be traced back to the Netherlands in the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "achter," which means "behind" or "at the back." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived at the back of a village or town, or perhaps worked or lived behind a specific landmark.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the ACHTER surname can be found in the Dutch province of Zeeland in the late 1500s. Archival records from this time mention several individuals with this surname, such as Jan Achter, who was born in 1578 in the town of Middelburg.

In the 17th century, the ACHTER name began to spread across the Netherlands and into neighboring regions. For instance, the famous Dutch philosopher and mathematician, Christiaan Achter, was born in 1616 in the city of Leiden. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is considered one of the fathers of modern calculus.

As the Dutch began to establish colonies and settlements in other parts of the world, the ACHTER surname traveled with them. In the late 1600s, a man named Pieter Achter was among the early Dutch settlers in what is now South Africa. He and his family were instrumental in establishing a farming community near present-day Cape Town.

The ACHTER name also found its way to the Americas during the great waves of Dutch immigration in the 17th and 18th centuries. One notable individual was Willem Achter, who was born in Amsterdam in 1712 and later immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York). He became a successful merchant and landowner in the area around what is now Brooklyn.

Other notable individuals with the ACHTER surname include Jakob Achter, a Dutch painter who lived in the 18th century and was known for his landscapes and seascapes. In the 19th century, there was also a German composer named Heinrich Achter, who was born in 1832 in the city of Cologne and wrote numerous operas and symphonic works.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Achter

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

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 Achter 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 Achter 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 Achter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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