2000
#14,745
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,847
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Ehrhart
An occupational surname of German origin referring to an honor attendant or court official.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,262 Americans carry the last name Ehrhart. That puts it at #14,528 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,527 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ehrhart 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
2.3K
1 in 151,527
Census rank
#14,528
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,973 bearers of the surname Ehrhart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14528th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ehrhart, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ehrhart
The surname EHRHART originated in Germany, emerging sometime during the Middle Ages between the 5th and 15th centuries. It is derived from the Old German words "era" meaning honor and "hart" meaning hardy or brave. Together, the name translates to "honorable and brave."
The name was initially concentrated in the southern German regions, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Similar spellings from this era include Ehrhardt, Erhart, and Erhard. The name is believed to have first appeared in written records in the 13th century, though the earliest known reference is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae from 1268, mentioning an individual named Erhard von Ehrenberg.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was Hans Ehrhart, a prominent merchant and banker who lived in Augsburg, Bavaria, between 1490 and 1564. His wealth and influence allowed him to become a patron of the arts, commissioning works from renowned artists of the time.
During the 16th century, the name appeared in various European records, including the Onomastikon Saxonicum, a register of Saxon names from 1589, which listed several Ehrhart families. Notably, Johannes Ehrhart, born in 1652 in Saxony, was a respected botanist and author, publishing works on plant taxonomy and classification.
In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Ehrhart, a German naturalist and botanist born in 1742, made significant contributions to the study of plant life. His extensive collections and publications on flora earned him recognition among the scientific community of his time.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Ehrhart, a German theologian and philosopher born in 1776. He taught at the University of Duisburg and wrote extensively on ethics, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion, leaving a lasting impact on German intellectual thought.
Throughout history, the EHRHART surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from merchants and bankers to scholars and naturalists. While the name originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, reflecting the migration patterns of its bearers over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ehrhart
Among Census respondents with the surname Ehrhart, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ehrhart 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 Ehrhart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,835
- Two or more races2.9% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ehrhart
Ehrhart 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
#14,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,987
+140 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 148 places
2020
#14,528
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,973
-14 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 365 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,745 | 1,847 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,893 | 1,987 | 0.67 | +140 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 148 places |
| 2020 | #14,528 | 1,973 | 0.66 | -14 bearers (-0.7%) | Up 365 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 Ehrhart 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 | #14,893 | #14,528 | 2.5% |
| Count | 1,987 | 1,973 | -0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.66 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ehrhart bearers went from 1,987 to 1,973 (-0.7% change). The surname moved up 365 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,893 to #14,528.
FAQ
Ehrhart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ehrhart?
Name Census estimates that about 2,262 living Americans carry the surname Ehrhart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,527 residents.
How common is Ehrhart?
Ehrhart ranks #14,528 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,973 people with the surname Ehrhart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,262), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Ehrhart.
Has Ehrhart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ehrhart went from 1,987 recorded bearers to 1,973. That is a decrease of 14 (-0.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,893 to #14,528.
What does the Census say about the background of Ehrhart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ehrhart, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Ehrhart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,835 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ehrhart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Ehrhart (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 Ehrhart mean?
An occupational surname of German origin referring to an honor attendant or court official. 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 Ehrhart (0.66 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 have the surname Ehrhart?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.