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

Erni, 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 Erni surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erni in America

Erni is the 83834th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erni surname appeared 224 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 Erni.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erni 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 Erni

The surname Erni has its origins in the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in Switzerland and southern Germany. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German name Arnulf or Ernulf, which combines the elements "arn" meaning eagle and "wolf" meaning wolf.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the 8th to the 13th century. In this historical text, the name Ernulf appears as a personal name given to several individuals during this period.

In the 14th century, the surname Erni began to emerge in various regions of Switzerland, particularly in the cantons of Bern and Lucerne. The earliest known bearer of the surname was Johannes Erni, who was mentioned in a legal document from the city of Bern in 1367.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Erni family expanded its presence across different parts of Switzerland, with several notable individuals bearing the name. One such figure was Hans Erni, a renowned Swiss painter and sculptor born in Lucerne in 1909 and known for his vibrant and colorful artworks.

In the 18th century, the surname Erni also gained prominence in southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. One notable individual from this period was Johann Georg Erni, a German theologian and philosopher born in Württemberg in 1736.

As the Erni family continued to spread across Switzerland and Germany, the surname underwent various spelling variations, including Erny, Ernyi, and Ernie. Some of these variations were influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciations.

Other prominent individuals with the surname Erni throughout history include Franz Erni, a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, born in 1865; and Hans Rudolf Erni, a Swiss architect and artist born in 1909, known for his contributions to the development of modern Swiss architecture.

While the surname Erni has its roots in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and immigration patterns. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical references to the name can be traced back to the medieval period in Switzerland and southern Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erni

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

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

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

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