2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gottlich
A surname derived from the German word meaning "godly" or "divine."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Gottlich. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gottlich 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Gottlich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gottlich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gottlich
The surname Gottlich originated in Germany, where it has been recorded since the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "gottlich," meaning "divine" or "godly." The name likely referred to someone who was particularly pious or religious.
Early spellings of the name include Gottlich, Gottliche, and Goetlich. The name is found in various medieval records from German-speaking regions, such as church registers and tax rolls. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Gottlich, a monk who lived in the town of Erfurt in the late 13th century.
The Gottlich surname is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. Hans Gottlich (1531-1604) was a German theologian and reformer who played a role in the Protestant Reformation. Johann Gottlich Heineccius (1681-1741) was a prominent German jurist and professor of law at the University of Halle.
In the 18th century, the name was borne by Johann Gottlich Müller (1717-1786), a German historian and archaeologist known for his work on ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Another notable bearer was Johann Gottlieb Bohnenberger (1765-1831), a German mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
The surname Gottlich can also be found in various locations and place names throughout Germany. For example, there is a village called Gottlichenwald in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and a mountain called Gottlicher Berg in the Harz region.
While the name originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, the earliest recorded examples and historical references remain firmly rooted in the German-speaking regions of Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gottlich
Among Census respondents with the surname Gottlich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gottlich 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 Gottlich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 98
- Two or more races9.6% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gottlich
Gottlich 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+12 bearers (+10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,881 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-12 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,709 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+10.4%) | Up 1,881 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 12,709 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 Gottlich 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 | #133,048 | #145,757 | -9.6% |
| Count | 127 | 115 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gottlich bearers went from 127 to 115 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 12,709 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #145,757.
FAQ
Gottlich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gottlich?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Gottlich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Gottlich?
Gottlich ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Gottlich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Gottlich.
Has Gottlich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gottlich went from 127 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Gottlich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gottlich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Gottlich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gottlich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.2%), Two or More Races (9.6%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Gottlich (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 Gottlich mean?
A surname derived from the German word meaning "godly" or "divine." 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 Gottlich (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 Gottlich?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.