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

Esser, 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 Esser surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Esser in America

Esser is the 7724th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Esser surname appeared 4,297 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 Esser.

We can also compare 2010 data for Esser 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 Esser

The surname Esser originated in Germany and is a toponymic surname derived from the place name Essen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. The name can be traced back to the 8th century, when the region was part of the Frankish Empire. The name is believed to be derived from the Old High German word "essu," meaning "ash tree."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a medieval manuscript from the Benedictine abbey in Corvey, which mentions an individual named Essere in the year 836. The name also appears in various other medieval records and documents from the region.

During the Middle Ages, the city of Essen was an important ecclesiastical center, home to the Essen Abbey, one of the oldest and most prestigious convents in Germany. It is possible that some individuals with the surname Esser may have been associated with the abbey or the surrounding area.

Notable individuals with the surname Esser throughout history include Johann Heinrich Esser (1720-1783), a German composer and organist; Karl Esser (1873-1939), a German politician and member of the Reichstag; and Hans Esser (1897-1983), a German writer and journalist who was a prominent member of the Nazi Party.

Other notable figures include Clementine Esser (1858-1944), a German painter and sculptor, and Georg Esser (1677-1748), a German Baroque architect who designed several churches and monasteries in the Rhineland region.

It is worth mentioning that the surname Esser may have also been derived from the Middle Low German word "esse," meaning "donkey," which could suggest an alternative origin for the name related to an occupation or a physical characteristic.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Esser

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

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

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

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