2000
#6,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,931
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.83
Rare Last name
Gerhardt
A German surname derived from a given name meaning "brave spear" or "strong spear."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,515 Americans carry the last name Gerhardt. That puts it at #6,741 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,149 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerhardt 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
5.5K
1 in 62,149
Census rank
#6,741
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,809 bearers of the surname Gerhardt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6741st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerhardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerhardt
The surname Gerhardt is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Gerhard, which is composed of the elements "ger" meaning "spear" and "hard" meaning "brave" or "hardy". The name was initially used as a given name before becoming a hereditary surname.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Gerhardt can be found in medieval German records and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a knight named Gerhardt von Braunschweig in a chronicle from the year 1215, describing his participation in a crusade to the Holy Land.
During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Gerhardt became more widespread across various regions of Germany. It was often associated with noble families or prominent individuals, such as the scholar and humanist Johann Gerhardt (1582-1637), who was a renowned Protestant theologian and hymnwriter.
In the 17th century, the Gerhardt surname appeared in various forms, including Gerhart, Gerhart, and Gerhardts, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. One notable figure from this era was the German poet and mystic Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676), who is remembered for his influential religious poetry and hymns.
As the name spread across different German-speaking regions, it also became associated with certain place names or locations. For example, the name Gerhardt von Minden was recorded in the 14th century, referring to an individual from the city of Minden in the present-day state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gerhardt include the German mathematician Karl Immanuel Gerhardt (1816-1899), who made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry, and the philosopher and psychologist Karl Gerhardt (1833-1920), known for his work on the philosophy of education.
The surname Gerhardt has also been carried by prominent figures in various fields, such as the German-American physicist Charles Gerhardt (1816-1856), who made important discoveries in organic chemistry, and the German-American engineer and inventor Charles Proteus Steinmetz (born Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz Gerhardt, 1865-1923), who contributed significantly to the development of alternating current electrical systems.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerhardt
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerhardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerhardt 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 Gerhardt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 4,282
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 279
- Two or more races3.3% · 158
- Black or African American0.9% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerhardt
Gerhardt 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
#6,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,007
+76 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 378 places
2020
#6,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,809
-198 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,358 | 4,931 | 1.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,736 | 5,007 | 1.70 | +76 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 378 places |
| 2020 | #6,741 | 4,809 | 1.61 | -198 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 5 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 Gerhardt 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 | #6,736 | #6,741 | -0.1% |
| Count | 5,007 | 4,809 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.70 | 1.61 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerhardt bearers went from 5,007 to 4,809 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,736 to #6,741.
FAQ
Gerhardt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerhardt?
Name Census estimates that about 5,515 living Americans carry the surname Gerhardt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,149 residents.
How common is Gerhardt?
Gerhardt ranks #6,741 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,809 people with the surname Gerhardt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,515), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Gerhardt.
Has Gerhardt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerhardt went from 5,007 recorded bearers to 4,809. That is a decrease of 198 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,736 to #6,741.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerhardt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerhardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Gerhardt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (4,282 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerhardt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (5.8%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Gerhardt (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 Gerhardt mean?
A German surname derived from a given name meaning "brave spear" or "strong spear." 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 Gerhardt (1.61 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 are called Gerhardt?
See how many people have the last name Gerhardt on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.