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

Hirsch, 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 Hirsch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hirsch in America

Hirsch is the 2120th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hirsch surname appeared 17,072 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Hirsch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hirsch 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 Hirsch

The surname Hirsch originates from the German language and refers to a male deer or stag. It likely started as a descriptive nickname or an occupational name for someone who hunted or worked with deer. The name can be traced back to the Middle High German period, around 1050-1350 CE, and was commonly found in areas of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hirsch appears in the Codex Traditionum of the Benedictine abbey of Ebersberg in Bavaria, dated around 1150. This document mentions a "Sigehardus Hirz" as a witness to a land transaction. The spelling "Hirz" was a common variant in the Middle Ages.

In the 13th century, the name Hirsch is found in various records from the Rhine region, such as the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Strassburg (Book of Records of the City of Strasbourg). This suggests the name was well-established in this area during that time.

One notable bearer of the name was Johannes Hirsch, a German theologian and reformer who lived from around 1460 to 1527. He was a prominent figure in the early years of the Protestant Reformation and a close associate of Martin Luther.

Another individual with the surname Hirsch was Samson Raphael Hirsch, a renowned German rabbi and scholar who lived from 1808 to 1888. He was a leading figure in the development of modern Orthodox Judaism and the founder of the Hirsch Yeshiva in Frankfurt.

In the realm of literature, the name Hirsch is associated with Maurice Hirsch, a French writer and journalist born in 1833. He was a prolific author and contributor to various publications, including the Revue des Deux Mondes.

The surname Hirsch also has connections to place names, such as Hirschhorn, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which translates to "Deer's Horn." This suggests that some individuals may have adopted the surname based on their place of origin or residence.

Throughout history, the surname Hirsch has been found across various regions of Europe, particularly in German-speaking areas, and has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including scholars, religious leaders, and writers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hirsch

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

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

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

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