2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ferschke
A surname of German origin potentially meaning "young fir tree".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Ferschke. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ferschke 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Ferschke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferschke, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ferschke
The surname FERSCHKE is of German origin, originating in the late 16th or early 17th century. It likely derived from the German word "Fersch," which referred to a type of freshwater fish. The name may have initially been an occupational name for someone who caught or sold this particular fish.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name FERSCHKE can be found in the parish records of the town of Kreuznach in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where a Hans Ferschke was listed as a resident in 1612. The spelling variations included Ferschke, Ferske, and Ferske.
In the 1700s, the name appeared in various regions of Germany, including Saxony and Silesia. Notably, Johann Christoph Ferschke (1689-1755) was a Lutheran theologian and author from Silesia, known for his works on church history and biblical exegesis.
During the 19th century, the FERSCHKE name was present in the historical records of several German cities and towns, such as Berlin, Dresden, and Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). One notable individual was Carl Ferschke (1811-1878), a German painter and illustrator from Berlin, known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Germans with the surname FERSCHKE immigrated to North America, particularly to the United States and Canada. This included individuals like August Ferschke (1852-1918), a German-American businessman and real estate developer in Chicago, and Johann Ferschke (1865-1943), a German-Canadian farmer and landowner in Saskatchewan.
Another noteworthy figure was Wilhelm Ferschke (1877-1945), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities in the early 20th century.
Throughout its history, the surname FERSCHKE has been associated with various occupations and professions, ranging from fish merchants and farmers to theologians, artists, and architects. While relatively uncommon, it remains a distinct part of German naming traditions and cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ferschke
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferschke, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ferschke 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 Ferschke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 101
- Two or more races3.8% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ferschke
Ferschke 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
+17 bearers (+16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,087 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-14 bearers (-11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,832 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+16.7%) | Up 8,087 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 12,832 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 Ferschke 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 | #152,989 | -9.2% |
| Count | 119 | 105 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ferschke bearers went from 119 to 105 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 12,832 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #152,989.
FAQ
Ferschke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ferschke?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Ferschke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Ferschke?
Ferschke ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Ferschke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Ferschke.
Has Ferschke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ferschke went from 119 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Ferschke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferschke, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Ferschke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ferschke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Ferschke (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 Ferschke mean?
A surname of German origin potentially meaning "young fir tree". 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 Ferschke (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 common is the surname Ferschke?
See how many people have the surname Ferschke on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.