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

Erbe, 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 Erbe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erbe in America

Erbe is the 18561st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erbe surname appeared 1,486 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Erbe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erbe 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 Erbe

The surname Erbe originated in Germany and is believed to have derived from the Old German word "erbe," which means "heir" or "inheritance." This name first appeared in the regions of Saxony and Bavaria in the 12th century.

In some early medieval records, the name was spelled as "Erbi" or "Erwe." It was often used to identify individuals who had inherited property or land from their ancestors. The earliest documented use of the name can be traced back to a manuscript from the Benedictine Abbey in Weingarten, dated around 1150, which mentions a person named "Conradus Erbe."

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Erbe was Dietrich Erbe, a German nobleman born in 1320 in the town of Erbach, near Frankfurt. He was a prominent landowner and served as a knight under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.

In the 15th century, the name Erbe appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493. The book mentions a merchant named Hans Erbe, who was involved in the trading of spices and textiles between Germany and Italy.

During the Renaissance period, the Erbe family established itself as a respected lineage in the city of Augsburg. One of their most renowned members was Johann Erbe (1512-1589), a renowned painter and engraver who was commissioned to create artwork for several churches and noble households in Bavaria.

Another notable individual with the surname Erbe was Karl Erbe (1801-1876), a German botanist and naturalist from Saxony. He contributed significantly to the study of plant taxonomy and wrote several influential works on the flora of Central Europe.

In the 19th century, the Erbe name gained prominence in the literary world with the German writer and poet Friedrich Erbe (1825-1891). He was known for his romantic poetry and his collection of folk tales from the Black Forest region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erbe

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

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

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

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