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

Froelich, 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 Froelich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Froelich in America

Froelich is the 10416th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Froelich surname appeared 3,090 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 Froelich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Froelich 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 Froelich

The surname Froelich is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "froulicho" meaning "cheerful" or "joyful." This name first appeared in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony around the 12th century.

During the Middle Ages, surnames were often descriptive, reflecting a person's physical or personality traits. The name Froelich was likely given to individuals who displayed a cheerful or jovial demeanor. It is believed that the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in medieval German records and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name Froelich was Hans Froelich, a German artist and woodcarver who lived in the late 15th century. His intricate woodcarvings adorned churches and cathedrals throughout southern Germany.

In the 16th century, Johannes Froelich, a German theologian and historian, made significant contributions to the study of church history with his writings on the Reformation era. He was born in 1515 and died in 1585.

During the 17th century, Erasmus Froelich, a renowned German astronomer and mathematician, made groundbreaking observations and discoveries in the field of celestial mechanics. He was born in 1625 and died in 1705.

In the 18th century, the Froelich family established itself as a prominent noble lineage in Austria. One notable member was Count Franz von Froelich, a military officer who served in the Austrian army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1770 and died in 1848.

The 19th century saw the rise of the German-American community, with many Froelichs immigrating to the United States. One notable figure from this era was August Froelich, a German-American inventor and engineer who patented several important agricultural machines, including the first successful gasoline-powered tractor. He was born in 1834 and died in 1892.

Throughout its history, the surname Froelich has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, military leaders, and inventors. Despite variations in spelling, such as Froehlich or Frohlich, the name's essence of cheerfulness and joy has remained consistent across centuries and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Froelich

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

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

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

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