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

Erhart, 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 Erhart surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erhart in America

Erhart is the 18036th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erhart surname appeared 1,547 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 Erhart.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erhart 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 Erhart

The surname Erhart is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German words "Eru" meaning "honor" and "hart" meaning "brave" or "hardy". The name was initially used as a descriptive term to refer to someone who was considered honorable and courageous.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Erhart can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, Germany. In this record, dated 1187, a man named Erhart von Mühlhausen is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Mühlhausen.

During the Middle Ages, the name Erhart was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was often associated with noble families and landowners. In the 13th century, an Erhart von Trausnitz was recorded as a knight and vassal of the Count of Ortenburg in Bavaria.

The name Erhart has also been linked to various place names across Germany, such as the town of Erharting in Bavaria, which is believed to have derived its name from an early settler or landowner bearing the surname Erhart.

One notable figure in history who bore the surname Erhart was Thomas Erhart (c. 1510-1564), a German composer and music theorist from Saxony. He is known for his contributions to the development of early Protestant church music during the Reformation era.

Another prominent individual with the surname Erhart was Johann Erhart (1437-1505), a German sculptor and architect from Nuremberg. He was renowned for his intricate woodcarvings and is considered one of the pioneering artists of the German Renaissance.

In the 18th century, Johann Erhart (1700-1765), a German mathematician and astronomer, made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.

The name Erhart has also been associated with various variations and alternative spellings throughout history, such as Erhard, Erhardt, and Ehrhardt, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic variations within German-speaking regions.

It is worth noting that the surname Erhart has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including nobles, artists, scholars, and commoners, reflecting its widespread use and acceptance across different social strata in Germany over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erhart

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!