2000
#28,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 804
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Very Rare Last name
Barch
A variant spelling of the English surname Barge, derived from a placename.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 962 Americans carry the last name Barch. That puts it at #29,905 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 356,293 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barch 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 Barch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
962
1 in 356,293
Census rank
#29,905
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
839
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 839 bearers of the surname Barch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29905th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barch
The surname BARCH is of German origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "barah," which referred to a boar or wild hog. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, possibly given to someone who worked with boars or wild pigs.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname BARCH can be found in historical records from the southern regions of Germany, particularly in areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. In the 17th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Barche," "Barcke," and "Barchen," reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation.
One notable historical reference to the surname BARCH is found in the "Kirchenbücher," or church records, of the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, dated around 1650. These records document the birth and baptism of a child named Hans Barch, providing evidence of the surname's usage during that time period.
Among the earliest known individuals with the surname BARCH was Johann Barch, born in 1712 in the village of Oberndorf, near the city of Rottweil in Baden-Württemberg. He was a farmer and is mentioned in local land records from the mid-18th century.
Another prominent figure bearing the BARCH surname was Wilhelm Barch, a German academic and philosopher who lived from 1781 to 1858. He served as a professor at the University of Tübingen and wrote several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the 19th century, the name BARCH gained recognition through the achievements of Katharina Barch, a renowned German painter and illustrator born in 1832 in Munich. Her intricate watercolor paintings and illustrations were highly acclaimed during her lifetime, and her works can be found in various art collections across Europe.
One of the most notable individuals with the surname BARCH was Karl Barch, a German engineer and inventor who lived from 1865 to 1935. He is credited with developing several innovative designs for agricultural machinery, including a groundbreaking threshing machine that significantly improved efficiency in grain harvesting.
The surname BARCH also has connections to certain place names in Germany, such as the village of Barchfeld in Thuringia, which may have derived its name from the same linguistic root as the surname. However, the direct link between the place name and the surname remains uncertain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barch
Among Census respondents with the surname Barch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Barch 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 Barch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 792
- Two or more races2.0% · 17
- Black or African American1.4% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barch
Barch 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
#33,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 672
-132 bearers (-16.4%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 5,807 places
2020
#29,905
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 839
+167 bearers (+24.9%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Up 3,951 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,049 | 804 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #33,856 | 672 | 0.23 | -132 bearers (-16.4%) | Down 5,807 places |
| 2020 | #29,905 | 839 | 0.28 | +167 bearers (+24.9%) | Up 3,951 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 Barch 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 | #33,856 | #29,905 | 11.7% |
| Count | 672 | 839 | 24.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.23 | 0.28 | 22.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barch bearers went from 672 to 839 (+24.9% change). The surname moved up 3,951 positions in the national ranking, going from #33,856 to #29,905.
FAQ
Barch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barch?
Name Census estimates that about 962 living Americans carry the surname Barch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 356,293 residents.
How common is Barch?
Barch ranks #29,905 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 839 people with the surname Barch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (962), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Barch.
Has Barch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barch went from 672 recorded bearers to 839. That is an increase of 167 (+24.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #33,856 to #29,905.
What does the Census say about the background of Barch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Barch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (792 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%), Black (1.4%). 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 Barch (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 Barch mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Barge, derived from a placename. 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 Barch (0.28 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 surname Barch?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.