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

Fröhlich, 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 Fröhlich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fröhlich in America

Fröhlich is the 24388th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fröhlich surname appeared 1,027 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 Fröhlich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fröhlich 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 Fröhlich

The surname Frohlich has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "frohlich," meaning "cheerful" or "merry." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname, given to someone with a particularly jovial or lighthearted demeanor.

In its earliest recorded form, the name was spelled "Froelich" or "Frolich." It is believed to have first appeared in official records in the 13th century, though the exact date and location are uncertain. One of the earliest known mentions of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dated around 1300.

The Frohlich surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Johann Frohlich, a German theologian and philosopher who lived in the 15th century (c. 1430-1490). Another prominent figure was Erasmus Frohlich, a German astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of comets and planetary motion in the 16th century (c. 1515-1588).

In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the University of Heidelberg, where a scholar named Georg Frohlich (c. 1610-1679) served as a professor of medicine and anatomy. Around the same time, a German artist named Erasmus Frohlich (c. 1635-1696) gained recognition for his intricate landscape paintings and etchings.

One of the most famous bearers of the Frohlich surname was the German composer and musician Joseph Frohlich, who lived from 1780 to 1862. He was renowned for his piano compositions and was a contemporary of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Other notable individuals with the Frohlich surname include the German botanist Friedrich Frohlich (1829-1892), who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy, and the Austrian-American physicist Herbert Frohlich (1905-1991), who was known for his work in theoretical physics and solid-state theory.

While the Frohlich surname is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, where variations in spelling and pronunciation have occurred over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fröhlich

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

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

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

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