2000
#3,699
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,810
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.27
Uncommon Last name
Erb
Derived from the German word "erbe," meaning "heir" or "inheritance," or from a short form of names beginning with Erp-.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,251 Americans carry the last name Erb. That puts it at #3,867 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,436 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Erb 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
10K
1 in 33,436
Census rank
#3,867
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,939 bearers of the surname Erb in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3867th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Erb, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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earliest recorded form, the name appeared as "Erben" in the 12th century Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Erb
Among Census respondents with the surname Erb, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Erb 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 Erb surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 8,345
- Two or more races2.9% · 263
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 67
- Black or African American0.5% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Erb
Erb 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
#3,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,060
+250 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 3.07
Rank movement Down 224 places
2020
#3,867
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,939
-121 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Up 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,699 | 8,810 | 3.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,923 | 9,060 | 3.07 | +250 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 224 places |
| 2020 | #3,867 | 8,939 | 2.99 | -121 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 56 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 Erb 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 | #3,923 | #3,867 | 1.4% |
| Count | 9,060 | 8,939 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.07 | 2.99 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Erb bearers went from 9,060 to 8,939 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,923 to #3,867.
FAQ
Erb surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Erb?
Name Census estimates that about 10,251 living Americans carry the surname Erb. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,436 residents.
How common is Erb?
Erb ranks #3,867 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,939 people with the surname Erb. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Erb.
Has Erb become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Erb went from 9,060 recorded bearers to 8,939. That is a decrease of 121 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,923 to #3,867.
What does the Census say about the background of Erb?
Among Census respondents with the surname Erb, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Erb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (8,345 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Erb appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Erb (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 Erb mean?
Derived from the German word "erbe," meaning "heir" or "inheritance," or from a short form of names beginning with Erp-. 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 Erb (2.99 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 common is the surname Erb?
You can see how many people have the last name Erb on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.