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

Erich, 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 Erich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erich in America

Erich is the 39117th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erich surname appeared 563 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 Erich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erich 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 Erich

The surname Erich originated from the Germanic region, specifically in areas that are now parts of modern-day Germany and Austria. The earliest known records of this surname date back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old German word "Erih," which means "noble" or "powerful."

One of the earliest known references to the surname Erich can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Superioris, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century that recorded land transactions and donations in the region of Niederalteich, Germany. The manuscript mentions an individual named "Erih de Prunne" who was a landowner in the area.

In the 13th century, the surname Erich appeared in various records in different spellings, such as "Eriche," "Erike," and "Ericho." These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time. One notable example is the mention of a knight named "Ericho de Hadersleve" in the Schleswig-Holstein Chronicle, a historical record from the late 13th century.

The surname Erich has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Gerhard Erich, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived in the 15th century (c. 1420-1489). Another prominent individual was Johann Erich, a German astronomer and mathematician from the 16th century (c. 1510-1569), known for his contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.

In the 17th century, a Dutch military officer named Frederik Erich (1629-1708) played a significant role in the Dutch Revolt against Spain. He served as a lieutenant-general in the Dutch army and was instrumental in several battles during the conflict.

Moving into the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Erich (1719-1779) was a German theologian and philosopher who made notable contributions to the field of religious studies. He is particularly known for his work on the interpretation of the Bible and the relationship between faith and reason.

In the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Erich was Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970), a German novelist best known for his anti-war novel "All Quiet on the Western Front." His literary works, which often depicted the harsh realities of war, gained him international recognition and critical acclaim.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erich

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Erich, 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!