2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Erlick
A surname of Germanic origin, possibly derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Erlick. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Erlick 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Erlick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Erlick, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Erlick
The surname Erlick has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Erle," meaning alder tree, and the suffix "-ick," which denotes a place or location. This suggests that the name originally referred to a person or family that lived near or in an area with alder trees.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Erlick can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Quedlinburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Quedlinburg Abbey in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In this manuscript, dated around 1280, there is a reference to a landowner named Henricus Erlick.
The name Erlick also appears in the Stadtbuch von Mühlhausen, an early municipal record book from the city of Mühlhausen in Thuringia, Germany. This document, dating back to the 14th century, mentions a citizen named Johannes Erlick.
One notable individual with the surname Erlick was Hans Erlick, a German merchant and financier who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Augsburg in 1505 and played a significant role in the city's banking and trading activities during the Renaissance period.
Another historical figure with the name Erlick was Friedrich Erlick, a German composer and organist who lived in the 18th century. He was born in Dresden in 1725 and is known for his compositions for the organ and other sacred works.
In the 19th century, there was a German politician named Otto Erlick, who served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) from 1871 to 1884. He was born in Hanover in 1820 and was a prominent figure in the liberal political movement of his time.
The surname Erlick can also be traced to other regions, such as the Netherlands, where it may have been derived from the Dutch word "erlik," meaning honest or honorable. However, the German origin of the name seems to be more prevalent in historical records.
It is worth noting that the surname Erlick has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Erlik, Erlich, and Ehrlich, among others. These variations may have been influenced by regional dialects or scribal errors in historical documents.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Erlick
Among Census respondents with the surname Erlick, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Erlick 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 Erlick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Erlick
Erlick 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+8 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,416 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,892 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 1,416 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 1,892 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 Erlick 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 | #140,157 | #142,049 | -1.3% |
| Count | 119 | 120 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Erlick bearers went from 119 to 120 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 1,892 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,049.
FAQ
Erlick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Erlick?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Erlick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Erlick?
Erlick ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Erlick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Erlick.
Has Erlick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Erlick went from 119 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 1 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Erlick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Erlick, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Erlick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Erlick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (3.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Erlick (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 Erlick mean?
A surname of Germanic origin, possibly derived from a place name. 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 Erlick (0.04 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 many people share the surname Erlick?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.