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

Fehrenbach, 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 Fehrenbach surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fehrenbach in America

Fehrenbach is the 24593rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fehrenbach surname appeared 1,016 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 Fehrenbach.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fehrenbach 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 Fehrenbach

The surname Fehrenbach originates from Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German words "fere" meaning journey and "bach" meaning stream or brook, suggesting it may have originally referred to a person living near a stream frequented by travelers.

One of the earliest mentions of the name can be found in the church records of the town of Kinding, located in the German state of Bavaria, where a certain Hans Fehrenbach is recorded as a resident in 1532. Around the same period, the name also appears in various tax and census records in other parts of Bavaria and the neighboring regions of Swabia and Franconia.

In the 17th century, the name Fehrenbach began to spread further across Germany, with records showing individuals bearing this surname in cities like Nuremberg, Augsburg, and Würzburg. A notable figure from this era was Johann Fehrenbach, a respected jurist and professor at the University of Heidelberg, who lived from 1620 to 1688.

The 18th century saw the emergence of several prominent Fehrenbachs, including Johann Georg Fehrenbach (1711-1789), a renowned theologian and author from Württemberg, and Johann Jakob Fehrenbach (1745-1823), a successful merchant and landowner in the Palatinate region.

As the industrial revolution took hold in the 19th century, many Fehrenbachs migrated from rural areas to urban centers in search of employment. One such individual was Karl Fehrenbach (1820-1895), a pioneering textile manufacturer from Baden who played a significant role in the development of the German textile industry.

The 20th century brought forth several noteworthy individuals with the surname Fehrenbach, including Konstantin Fehrenbach (1919-2008), a celebrated German artist known for his abstract expressionist paintings, and Wilhelm Fehrenbach (1897-1968), a prominent politician who served as the first Minister President of Baden-Württemberg after World War II.

Throughout its history, the surname Fehrenbach has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Germany, particularly in the southern states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and the Palatinate. While its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, the name has endured and continues to be carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fehrenbach

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

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

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

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