2000
#1,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,161
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.36
Uncommon Last name
Eckert
Derived from a German surname meaning "ploughman" or "plough maker," referring to an agricultural occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,914 Americans carry the last name Eckert. That puts it at #2,141 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,122 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eckert 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 Eckert with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,122
Census rank
#2,141
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,494 bearers of the surname Eckert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2141st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eckert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eckert
The surname Eckert is of German origin, and it can be traced back to the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the medieval German word "Ecker," which translates to "cultivator of land" or "farmer." This indicates that the name likely originated among families who worked as farmers or cultivated land in rural areas of present-day Germany.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries, particularly in regions such as Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. Some notable early bearers of the name include Hans Eckert, a farmer mentioned in the 1437 tax records of the town of Mühlhausen, and Kunz Eckert, a landowner documented in the 1492 land registry of the village of Friedberg.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Eckert surname began to spread across various parts of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as neighboring regions. This was partly due to the migration of families seeking new opportunities or fleeing religious persecution. In some areas, the name was also spelled as "Eckhart" or "Eckhardt," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
One notable historical figure bearing the Eckert surname was Johann Eckert (1673-1732), a German theologian and author who served as a minister in the city of Altenburg. Another prominent individual was Johann Gottfried Eckert (1735-1805), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Göttingen.
In the 19th century, the Eckert name began to appear more frequently in various parts of Europe and beyond, as migration patterns expanded. For example, Johann Adam Eckert (1812-1877) was a German-American farmer and settler who migrated to Texas in the 1840s and established a community known as Eckert's Settlement.
Another notable figure was Karl Eckert (1820-1892), a German-American entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Eckert and Ziegler Brewery in Philadelphia, which became one of the largest breweries in the United States during the late 19th century.
As the Eckert surname spread across different regions and countries, it also gave rise to various place names, such as Eckertshausen in Germany, Eckertsville in Pennsylvania, and Eckert County in Texas, reflecting the influence and settlement patterns of families bearing this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eckert
Among Census respondents with the surname Eckert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Eckert 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 Eckert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 15,191
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 524
- Two or more races3.1% · 517
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 142
- Black or African American0.4% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eckert
Eckert 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
#2,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,269
+108 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 5.85
Rank movement Down 168 places
2020
#2,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,494
-775 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 5.52
Rank movement Down 48 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,925 | 17,161 | 6.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,093 | 17,269 | 5.85 | +108 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 168 places |
| 2020 | #2,141 | 16,494 | 5.52 | -775 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 48 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 Eckert 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 | #2,093 | #2,141 | -2.3% |
| Count | 17,269 | 16,494 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.85 | 5.52 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eckert bearers went from 17,269 to 16,494 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 48 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,093 to #2,141.
FAQ
Eckert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eckert?
Name Census estimates that about 18,914 living Americans carry the surname Eckert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,122 residents.
How common is Eckert?
Eckert ranks #2,141 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.52 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 16,494 people with the surname Eckert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,914), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.52 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 Eckert.
Has Eckert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eckert went from 17,269 recorded bearers to 16,494. That is a decrease of 775 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,093 to #2,141.
What does the Census say about the background of Eckert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eckert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Eckert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (15,191 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eckert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Eckert (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 Eckert mean?
Derived from a German surname meaning "ploughman" or "plough maker," referring to an agricultural occupation. 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 Eckert (5.52 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 share the surname Eckert?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.