2000
#1,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,256
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.40
Uncommon Last name
Albrecht
A German surname derived from the Old High German words for "elf" and "bright" or "shining."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,409 Americans carry the last name Albrecht. That puts it at #2,079 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,660 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Albrecht 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Albrecht with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,660
Census rank
#2,079
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,926 bearers of the surname Albrecht in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2079th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Albrecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Albrecht
The surname ALBRECHT originated in Germany and can be traced back to the medieval era. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Albrecht, which is a compound of the words "al" meaning "all" and "berht" meaning "bright" or "illustrious." The name was relatively common in various regions of Germany during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known records of the surname ALBRECHT can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the 11th century. The name is mentioned in relation to a nobleman named Albrecht von Bogen, who lived in Bavaria in the late 11th century.
Another notable early reference to the surname ALBRECHT is found in the Annales Sancti Blasii, a chronicle written in the 13th century by monks at the Abbey of St. Blasius in the Black Forest region of Germany. The chronicle mentions an individual named Albrecht von Hohenzollern, who was a member of the noble Hohenzollern family and lived in the late 12th century.
In the 14th century, a prominent figure bearing the surname ALBRECHT was Albrecht I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg (1443-1500). He was a member of the House of Wettin and ruled over the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg from 1486 until his death.
During the Renaissance period, a notable individual with the surname ALBRECHT was Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), a renowned German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. He was born in Nuremberg and is widely considered one of the greatest artists of the Northern Renaissance.
Another famous bearer of the surname ALBRECHT was Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634), a Bohemian military officer who played a significant role in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He served as a general for the Holy Roman Empire and was later appointed as the Duke of Friedland.
Over the centuries, the surname ALBRECHT has remained relatively common in various regions of Germany, and it can also be found in other German-speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland. While the name has evolved over time, with variations in spelling and pronunciation, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period and the Germanic personal name Albrecht.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Albrecht
Among Census respondents with the surname Albrecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Albrecht 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 Albrecht surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 15,636
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 603
- Two or more races2.7% · 456
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 131
- Black or African American0.4% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Albrecht
Albrecht 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
#2,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,581
+325 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 5.96
Rank movement Down 133 places
2020
#2,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,926
-655 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 5.66
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,914 | 17,256 | 6.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,047 | 17,581 | 5.96 | +325 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 133 places |
| 2020 | #2,079 | 16,926 | 5.66 | -655 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 32 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 Albrecht 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 | #2,047 | #2,079 | -1.6% |
| Count | 17,581 | 16,926 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.96 | 5.66 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Albrecht bearers went from 17,581 to 16,926 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,047 to #2,079.
FAQ
Albrecht surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Albrecht?
Name Census estimates that about 19,409 living Americans carry the surname Albrecht. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,660 residents.
How common is Albrecht?
Albrecht ranks #2,079 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,926 people with the surname Albrecht. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,409), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Albrecht.
Has Albrecht become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Albrecht went from 17,581 recorded bearers to 16,926. That is a decrease of 655 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,047 to #2,079.
What does the Census say about the background of Albrecht?
Among Census respondents with the surname Albrecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Albrecht in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (15,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Albrecht appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Albrecht (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 Albrecht mean?
A German surname derived from the Old High German words for "elf" and "bright" or "shining." 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 Albrecht (5.66 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 are called Albrecht?
Want to know how many people have the surname Albrecht? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.