2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Emshwiller
A German surname derived from a place name referring to a person from Emschweiler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Emshwiller. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Emshwiller 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Emshwiller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Emshwiller, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Emshwiller
The surname Emshwiller is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from a combination of the German words "Ems," which can refer to a river or stream, and "Willer," a variant of the word "Weiler," meaning a small village or hamlet.
One of the earliest known references to the Emshwiller name can be found in the records of the town of Emswiller, located in the Alsace region of modern-day France. This town's name, which shares similarities with the Emshwiller surname, suggests a possible connection to the name's origins.
In the late 17th century, a man named Johann Emshwiller was recorded as residing in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He is one of the earliest documented individuals to bear this surname.
Another notable early bearer of the Emshwiller name was Hans Emshwiller, born in 1712 in the village of Langenbrand, located in what is now the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He was a farmer and landowner, and his descendants continued to use the Emshwiller surname in the region for generations.
In the 19th century, a family by the name of Emshwiller emigrated from Germany to the United States, settling in the state of Pennsylvania. One of their descendants, Ed Emshwiller (1925-1990), became a renowned science fiction author and artist, known for his work in the pulp fiction magazines of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Emshwiller name has also been associated with notable figures in other fields. For instance, Carol Emshwiller (born 1921) is an American writer and artist who has been active in the science fiction and fantasy genres since the 1950s.
Throughout its history, the Emshwiller surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Emschwiller, Emswiller, and Emshweiler, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic influences of the areas where it was used.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emshwiller
Among Census respondents with the surname Emshwiller, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Emshwiller 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 Emshwiller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 109
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Emshwiller
Emshwiller 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-5 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,150 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+5 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 15,150 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.8%) | Up 5,461 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 Emshwiller 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 | #154,907 | #149,446 | 3.5% |
| Count | 105 | 110 | 4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Emshwiller bearers went from 105 to 110 (+4.8% change). The surname moved up 5,461 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #149,446.
FAQ
Emshwiller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Emshwiller?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Emshwiller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Emshwiller?
Emshwiller ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Emshwiller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Emshwiller.
Has Emshwiller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Emshwiller went from 105 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 5 (+4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Emshwiller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Emshwiller, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Emshwiller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Emshwiller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Emshwiller (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 Emshwiller mean?
A German surname derived from a place name referring to a person from Emschweiler. 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 Emshwiller (0.04 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 Emshwiller?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.