2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Jelich
A surname of possible German origin denoting someone from the places named Jelich.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Jelich. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jelich 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Jelich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jelich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jelich
The surname Jelich originated in Germany, likely in the Late Middle Ages around the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name Gelih or Gilich, which may have been a diminutive form of names beginning with the element "gel" or "gil," meaning "bright" or "shining."
The earliest known record of the Jelich name dates back to 1499, when one Henrich Jelich was mentioned in the town records of Marburg, a city in the modern-day German state of Hesse. Other early spellings of the name include Jälich, Jelich, and Gelich, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and orthography.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Jelich surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Westphalia and the Rhineland. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Jelich (1490-1538), a German humanist scholar and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.
In the 18th century, the Jelich surname spread beyond its traditional heartland as families migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. One prominent figure from this period was Johann Friedrich Jelich (1737-1807), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities.
As the 19th century dawned, the Jelich name continued to disperse across Europe and beyond. One individual of note was Carl Jelich (1806-1882), a German-born American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1860s.
Other notable bearers of the Jelich surname include:
1. Friedrich Jelich (1890-1964), a German World War I fighter ace credited with 16 aerial victories.
2. Theodor Jelich (1859-1932), an Austrian painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and portraits.
3. Hans Jelich (1892-1975), a German-American architect who designed several buildings in New York City in the early 20th century.
4. Wilhelm Jelich (1868-1944), a German businessman and industrialist who founded the Jelich Machinery Works in Dortmund.
5. Ingrid Jelich (born 1933), a German-born American artist and sculptor known for her abstract metal works.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jelich
Among Census respondents with the surname Jelich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Jelich 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 Jelich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 9
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jelich
Jelich 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+20 bearers (+17.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 8,019 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-30 bearers (-22.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 26,321 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +20 bearers (+17.2%) | Up 8,019 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -30 bearers (-22.1%) | Down 26,321 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 Jelich 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 | #126,018 | #152,339 | -20.9% |
| Count | 136 | 106 | -22.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -29.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jelich bearers went from 136 to 106 (-22.1% change). The surname moved down 26,321 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #152,339.
FAQ
Jelich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jelich?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Jelich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Jelich?
Jelich ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Jelich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Jelich.
Has Jelich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jelich went from 136 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 30 (-22.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Jelich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jelich, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.5%) and Black (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 Jelich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jelich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.8%), Hispanic (8.5%), Black (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 Jelich (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 Jelich mean?
A surname of possible German origin denoting someone from the places named Jelich. 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 Jelich (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 are called Jelich?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Jelich is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.