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

Gorbach, 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 Gorbach surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gorbach in America

Gorbach is the 82317th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gorbach surname appeared 229 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 Gorbach.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gorbach 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 Gorbach

The surname Gorbach has its origins in central Europe, specifically in the German-speaking regions of what is now modern-day Germany and Austria. The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, likely emerging sometime in the 13th or 14th century.

One theory suggests that the name Gorbach is derived from the Germanic words "gor" or "gur," which referred to a type of marshy or swampy area, and "bach," meaning a small stream or brook. Thus, the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a stream or brook in a marshy area.

Another possible origin is that the name is a combination of the Germanic word "gor," which could also mean a spear or javelin, and "bach," referring to a person who lived near a stream or brook where spears or javelins were manufactured or used.

Early records of the Gorbach name can be found in various medieval documents and manuscripts from the region. One notable example is the mention of a "Heinrich Gorbach" in a land registry from the town of Nuremberg, dated to the year 1387.

As the name spread across central Europe, variations in spelling emerged, such as Gorbaach, Gorbacher, and Gorbachius. Some of these variations may have been influenced by local dialects or scribal errors in transcribing the name.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Gorbach surname was Johannes Gorbach, a German scholar and theologian who lived from 1503 to 1568. He is known for his works on biblical exegesis and his involvement in the Protestant Reformation.

Another notable figure was Gottfried Gorbach, a German composer and organist who lived from 1639 to 1713. He is remembered for his contributions to the development of Protestant church music in the Baroque period.

In the 19th century, Carl Gorbach (1830-1904) was a German jurist and legal scholar who made significant contributions to the field of civil law and legal theory.

The name Gorbach also found its way to other parts of Europe, including Austria, where Johann Nepomuk Gorbach (1772-1819) was a renowned painter and engraver during the Biedermeier period.

Finally, one of the more recent individuals with the Gorbach surname was Hans Gorbach (1908-1953), an Austrian writer and journalist who was known for his works exploring the themes of rural life and the human condition.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gorbach

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

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

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

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