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

Erbach, 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 Erbach surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erbach in America

Erbach is the 71042nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erbach surname appeared 275 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Erbach.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erbach 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 Erbach

The surname Erbach originated in Germany, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old High German words "eru," meaning honor, and "bah," meaning brook or stream. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a settlement located along an honorable or esteemed waterway.

The name is closely associated with the town of Erbach in the Odenwald region of southern Hesse, Germany. It is believed that the noble family of Erbach, who ruled the County of Erbach from the 12th century onwards, played a significant role in the widespread adoption of the surname.

One of the earliest known references to the name Erbach can be found in the Codex Eberhardi, a 12th-century manuscript from the Fulda monastery. This document mentions an individual named Adelheid von Erbach, who lived around 1150.

In the 13th century, the surname appears in various records, including the Annales Erphordenses, which mentions a knight named Friedrich von Erbach in 1259. Another notable figure from this era was Eberhard von Erbach (c. 1245-1301), a German ministerialis and poet.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Erbach family rose to prominence as prominent nobles and landowners in the Holy Roman Empire. Notable members include Eberhard XII von Erbach (1345-1410), who served as the Imperial Count of Erbach, and his son Eberhard XIII von Erbach (1370-1425), who expanded the family's territories.

In the 16th century, the name Erbach gained further recognition with the birth of Eberhard XVI von Erbach (1561-1647), a German count and diplomat who played a significant role in the Thirty Years' War. Another notable figure was Philipp Ludwig von Erbach (1576-1639), a German noble and soldier.

Over the centuries, the Erbach surname has been associated with various notable individuals, including the author and philosopher Johann August Ernesti (1707-1781), the German painter Johann Christian Erbach (1718-1799), and the theologian Johann Christian Friedrich Erbach (1777-1851).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erbach

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

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 Erbach 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 Erbach 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 Erbach was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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