2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gerlick
A surname of Germanic origin, potentially derived from a place name or a diminutive of Gerhard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Gerlick. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerlick 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Gerlick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerlick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerlick
The surname Gerlick has its origins in Germany, emerging sometime around the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "gâr," which means "spear," and the suffix "-lîh," meaning "resembling." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who bore a spear or worked as a spearmaker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of medieval documents from the Anhalt region of Germany, dated 1235. In this text, a certain "Conradus Gerlick" is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Zerbst.
The name also appears in various other historical documents throughout the Middle Ages, often with slight variations in spelling, such as Gerlik, Gerlicke, and Gärlich. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during that time.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the name Gerlick was Hans Gerlick, a German painter and engraver who lived from around 1430 to 1500. His works, including religious paintings and woodcuts, can still be found in museums and collections across Europe.
Another prominent individual with the surname Gerlick was Johann Gerlick, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1490 to 1554. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
In the 16th century, the Gerlick family established themselves in the region of Saxony, where they were known as skilled craftsmen and merchants. One member of this family, Hans Gerlick (1540-1612), was a respected goldsmith whose works were highly sought after by nobles and royalty.
The name Gerlick also appears in connection with several place names in Germany, such as Gerlickshausen, a village in the state of Hesse, and Gerlicksberg, a hill in the Thuringian Forest. These place names likely originated from early settlers or landowners bearing the surname.
Other notable individuals with the Gerlick surname include Johann Gerlick (1672-1733), a German composer and organist who was renowned for his church music, and Carl Gerlick (1834-1904), a German-American painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and scenes of rural life.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerlick
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerlick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerlick 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 Gerlick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerlick
Gerlick appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-10 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,981 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 7,981 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 Gerlick 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 | #146,201 | #154,182 | -5.5% |
| Count | 113 | 103 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerlick bearers went from 113 to 103 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 7,981 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #154,182.
FAQ
Gerlick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerlick?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Gerlick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Gerlick?
Gerlick ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Gerlick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gerlick.
Has Gerlick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerlick went from 113 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerlick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerlick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Gerlick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerlick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (1.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Gerlick (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 Gerlick mean?
A surname of Germanic origin, potentially derived from a place name or a diminutive of Gerhard. 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 Gerlick (0.03 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 Gerlick?
See how many people are called Gerlick on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.