2000
#10,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,961
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Auerbach
A German toponymic surname indicating someone from any of several places named Auerbach, meaning "stream of the pasture."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,218 Americans carry the last name Auerbach. That puts it at #10,842 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,512 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Auerbach 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
3.2K
1 in 106,512
Census rank
#10,842
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,806 bearers of the surname Auerbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10842nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Auerbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Auerbach
The surname Auerbach is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "auer," meaning meadow or pasture, and "bach," meaning stream or brook. Thus, Auerbach refers to a place name, likely a settlement near a stream flowing through a meadow.
The name first appears in historical records from the 13th century, including mentions in the tax rolls of various German towns and villages. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Heinrich Auerbach, a merchant from the town of Auerbach in Bavaria, who lived in the late 1200s.
In the 14th century, the Auerbach name is found in the Codex Manesse, a famous medieval manuscript containing works of Middle High German lyric poetry. This suggests that individuals with this surname were part of the cultural elite during that time period.
By the 15th century, the Auerbach name had spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions. Notable bearers include Johannes Auerbach, a scholar and theologian from Saxony who lived from 1445 to 1514, and Hans Auerbach, a merchant and councilman in the city of Nuremberg in the late 1400s.
In the 16th century, the Auerbach family established itself as prominent figures in the German Jewish community. One of the most well-known members was Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, a renowned Talmudic scholar who lived from 1515 to 1587.
Over the centuries, the Auerbach name has been associated with various professions, including merchants, scholars, rabbis, and artists. One of the most famous bearers of the name was the German-American writer and philosopher Berthold Auerbach, who lived from 1812 to 1882 and was a prominent figure in the literary movement known as Dorfgeschichten (village tales).
Other notable individuals with the Auerbach surname include the German mathematician and philosopher Felix Auerbach (1856-1933), the American philosopher and logician Walter Auerbach (1905-1975), and the German-American mathematician and computer scientist Maurice Auerbacher (1919-2019).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Auerbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Auerbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Auerbach 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 Auerbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 2,569
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 123
- Two or more races2.9% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Auerbach
Auerbach 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
#10,751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,968
+7 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 709 places
2020
#10,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,806
-162 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 91 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,042 | 2,961 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,751 | 2,968 | 1.01 | +7 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 709 places |
| 2020 | #10,842 | 2,806 | 0.94 | -162 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 91 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 Auerbach 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 | #10,751 | #10,842 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,968 | 2,806 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.94 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Auerbach bearers went from 2,968 to 2,806 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 91 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,751 to #10,842.
FAQ
Auerbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Auerbach?
Name Census estimates that about 3,218 living Americans carry the surname Auerbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,512 residents.
How common is Auerbach?
Auerbach ranks #10,842 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,806 people with the surname Auerbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,218), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Auerbach.
Has Auerbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Auerbach went from 2,968 recorded bearers to 2,806. That is a decrease of 162 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,751 to #10,842.
What does the Census say about the background of Auerbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Auerbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Auerbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (2,569 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Auerbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Auerbach (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 Auerbach mean?
A German toponymic surname indicating someone from any of several places named Auerbach, meaning "stream of the pasture." 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 Auerbach (0.94 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 Auerbach?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Auerbach at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.