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

Kircher, 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 Kircher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kircher in America

Kircher is the 8714th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kircher surname appeared 3,765 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kircher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kircher 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 Kircher

The surname Kircher is of German origin, deriving from the Old High German word "kirihha" meaning "church." It can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries AD, when it was likely used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or worked at a church.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kircher can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Galli, a manuscript from the 9th century that lists land donations to the monastery of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Here, the name is spelled "Kirchere," indicating its connection to the church.

In the 13th century, the surname appears in various German town records and charters, such as the Heidelberg City Records of 1295, where a "Heinrich Kircher" is mentioned. This suggests that the name had become more widespread by this time, perhaps as families adopted it as a hereditary surname.

Several notable figures throughout history have borne the surname Kircher. One of the most famous is Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including Egyptology, geology, and the study of languages. His works, such as the "Mundus Subterraneus" and "Oedipus Aegyptiacus," were widely influential in their time.

Another notable Kircher was Johann Christoph Kircher (1689-1766), a German composer and violinist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Elector Palatine in Mannheim. His compositions, particularly his church music, were highly regarded during the Baroque period.

In the 19th century, Johann Baptist Kircher (1801-1866) was a German Catholic priest and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant systematics and taxonomy. He is best known for his work on the flora of Baden, Germany, and his extensive herbarium collections.

The surname Kircher can also be found in various place names, such as Kircherfeld, a village in Germany's Black Forest region, and Kircherhofstetten, a municipality in Lower Austria. These place names likely originated from the surname itself, indicating the presence of families bearing the name in those areas.

While the surname Kircher has its roots in Germany, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. Families with this surname can now be found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kircher

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

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

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

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