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

Ahrens, 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 Ahrens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ahrens in America

Ahrens is the 3508th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ahrens surname appeared 10,182 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Ahrens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ahrens 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 Ahrens

The surname Ahrens has its origins in Germany, emerging sometime around the 13th century. It derives from the Low German word "Ahren" or "Arnd," which means "eagle." The name was likely initially assigned as a descriptive nickname to someone who displayed eagle-like characteristics or lived near a prominent nest.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ahrens surname appears in the town records of Lübeck, Germany, in 1299, where a merchant named Hermann Ahrens is mentioned. The name can also be found in various medieval manuscripts and documents from northern Germany and the surrounding regions.

In the 16th century, the Ahrens surname was particularly prevalent in the area around Hamburg and the neighboring state of Schleswig-Holstein. A notable figure from this era was Johannes Ahrens, a Lutheran theologian and reformer born in 1549 in Lübeck. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in northern Germany.

As the name spread across German-speaking lands, regional variations in spelling emerged, including Ahrendt, Ahrend, and Arendt. These slight alterations often reflected local dialects and pronunciations.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, several Ahrens families immigrated to the American colonies, particularly Pennsylvania and New York. One early arrival was Hendrick Ahrens, who settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, around 1690.

In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Ahrens surname was Wilhelm Ahrens, a German philologist and linguist born in 1808 in Helmstedt. He made significant contributions to the study of comparative linguistics and the classification of languages.

Another noteworthy figure was Heinrich Ahrens, a German philosopher and legal scholar born in 1808 in Kniestedt. His works on natural law and legal philosophy were influential in the 19th century.

Throughout history, the Ahrens surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Ahrensburg in Schleswig-Holstein and Ahrenshagen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, both in northern Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ahrens

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

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

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

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