2000
#15,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,681
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Emmerich
A habitational surname derived from the town of Emmerich in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,939 Americans carry the last name Emmerich. That puts it at #16,488 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 176,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Emmerich 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
1.9K
1 in 176,769
Census rank
#16,488
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,691 bearers of the surname Emmerich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16488th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Emmerich, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Emmerich
The surname Emmerich originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German words "eim" meaning "labor or work" and "rih" meaning "ruler or powerful". Therefore, the name Emmerich essentially means "powerful worker" or "hard-working ruler".
The name initially arose in the Rhineland region of western Germany, particularly around the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf. Some of the earliest records of the name can be found in local church registers and municipal documents from the 13th and 14th centuries.
One notable historical figure with the surname Emmerich was Meister Eckhart von Emmerich, a influential German philosopher and theologian who lived from around 1260 to 1328. He was a leading proponent of medieval mysticism and his writings had a significant impact on the development of Western philosophy.
Another important figure was Georg Emmerich, a German mercenary captain who fought in the Thirty Years' War during the early 17th century. He is recorded as leading a regiment of infantry in several major battles between 1618 and 1648.
In the 18th century, Johann Emmerich was a renowned German clockmaker and inventor who lived from 1720 to 1787. He is credited with developing several innovative timekeeping mechanisms and devices.
The name Emmerich also has connections to various place names in Germany, such as the town of Emmerich am Rhein located in North Rhine-Westphalia. This town likely took its name from the earlier surname, rather than the other way around.
One of the most famous people with the surname Emmerich was the German writer and mystic Anna Katharina Emmerick, who lived from 1774 to 1824. She experienced vivid religious visions and her written accounts of the life of Jesus Christ were highly influential in Catholic circles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emmerich
Among Census respondents with the surname Emmerich, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Emmerich 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 Emmerich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 1,569
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 56
- Two or more races2.5% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 11
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Emmerich
Emmerich 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
#16,601
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,727
+46 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Down 712 places
2020
#16,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,691
-36 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Up 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,889 | 1,681 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,601 | 1,727 | 0.59 | +46 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 712 places |
| 2020 | #16,488 | 1,691 | 0.57 | -36 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 113 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 Emmerich 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 | #16,601 | #16,488 | 0.7% |
| Count | 1,727 | 1,691 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.57 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Emmerich bearers went from 1,727 to 1,691 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,601 to #16,488.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Emmerich
FAQ
Emmerich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Emmerich?
Name Census estimates that about 1,939 living Americans carry the surname Emmerich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 176,769 residents.
How common is Emmerich?
Emmerich ranks #16,488 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.57 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 1,691 people with the surname Emmerich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,939), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.57 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 Emmerich.
Has Emmerich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Emmerich went from 1,727 recorded bearers to 1,691. That is a decrease of 36 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,601 to #16,488.
What does the Census say about the background of Emmerich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Emmerich, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Emmerich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (1,569 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Emmerich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Emmerich (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 Emmerich mean?
A habitational surname derived from the town of Emmerich in Germany. 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 Emmerich (0.57 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 Emmerich?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.