2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Frohreich
A surname derived from the German words "froh" and "reich" meaning "prosperous" or "joyful."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Frohreich. 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 Frohreich 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 Frohreich 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 Frohreich, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frohreich
The surname Frohreich is of German origin, deriving from the Old German words "froh" meaning "joyful" and "reich" meaning "rich" or "powerful." It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, as a descriptive name for someone who was perceived as wealthy and cheerful.
The name was initially found in various regions of Germany, particularly in the southern and central areas. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in a Bavarian tax record from the early 15th century, listing a certain Hans Frohreich as a landowner in the village of Mühldorf.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Frohreich name appears in various church records and municipal documents across German-speaking regions. Notable examples include Johann Frohreich, a merchant from Nuremberg who lived from 1542 to 1612, and Anna Frohreich, a midwife from Frankfurt who was born in 1587.
In the 18th century, the name gained some prominence with the birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Frohreich (1721-1798), a respected jurist and professor of law at the University of Heidelberg. Another individual of note was the poet and playwright Christian Frohreich (1746-1811), whose works were celebrated for their wit and humor.
As the 19th century unfolded, the Frohreich name spread beyond Germany, with some bearers emigrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. One such individual was Karl Frohreich (1829-1903), a Prussian-born military officer who later served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Other notable Frohreichs throughout history include the Austrian painter and illustrator Max Frohreich (1858-1924), the German architect and urban planner Otto Frohreich (1875-1947), and the Swiss-born American chemist Theodore J. Frohreich (1883-1962), who made significant contributions to the development of synthetic rubber.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frohreich
Among Census respondents with the surname Frohreich, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Frohreich 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 Frohreich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 11
- Two or more races4.8% · 5
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frohreich
Frohreich 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-4 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,343 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-13 bearers (-11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,849 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 12,343 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-11.0%) | Down 11,849 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 Frohreich 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 | #141,140 | #152,989 | -8.4% |
| Count | 118 | 105 | -11.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frohreich bearers went from 118 to 105 (-11.0% change). The surname moved down 11,849 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #152,989.
FAQ
Frohreich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frohreich?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Frohreich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Frohreich?
Frohreich 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 Frohreich. 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 Frohreich.
Has Frohreich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frohreich went from 118 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 13 (-11.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Frohreich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frohreich, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Frohreich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (84 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frohreich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Hispanic (10.5%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Frohreich (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 Frohreich mean?
A surname derived from the German words "froh" and "reich" meaning "prosperous" or "joyful." 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 Frohreich (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 many people share the surname Frohreich?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.