Find out how popular the last name Erb is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Erb.

Erb, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Erb surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erb in America

Erb is the 3923rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erb surname appeared 9,060 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Erb.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erb to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Erb

The surname Erb originated in Germany during the medieval period, deriving from the Old High German word "erbe" meaning "heir" or "inheritance." It was likely an occupational name given to someone who was an heir or inherited property.

In its earliest recorded form, the name appeared as "Erben" in the 12th century Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony. It was also found in various other medieval records from German-speaking regions, sometimes spelled as "Erbe" or "Erben."

The first known bearer of the name was Henricus Erben, a landowner mentioned in a 1224 charter from the town of Mülheim an der Ruhr in the Rhineland region of present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

During the 13th century, the name Erb began to spread across Germany, with bearers recorded in various cities and towns, such as Nürnberg, Augsburg, and Mainz.

One notable early bearer of the name was Johannes Erb, a scholar and rector of the University of Leipzig in the 15th century (c. 1420-1480).

Another significant figure was Matthias Erb (1522-1598), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a crucial role in the Reformation in the city of Essen.

In the 16th century, the name Erb was also found in Switzerland, likely carried by German immigrants. One of the earliest known Swiss bearers was Hans Erb, a citizen of Bern mentioned in records from 1548.

As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it evolved into various spellings, such as Erbe, Erben, and Erbes, reflecting local dialect variations.

Other notable bearers of the surname Erb include Johann Baptist Erb (1769-1828), a German composer and organist, and Wilhelm Heinrich Erb (1840-1921), a German neurologist who made significant contributions to the study of neuromuscular diseases.

Over time, the surname Erb became well-established in Germany, Switzerland, and other parts of Central Europe, with many bearers making their mark in various fields, including academia, religion, music, and science.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erb

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Erb.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Erb was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Erb has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Erb was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Erb, please contact us.

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