2000
#9,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,262
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.21
Rare Last name
Kircher
Derived from the German word "Kirche," meaning church, likely referring to someone who lived near or worked at a church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,473 Americans carry the last name Kircher. That puts it at #10,142 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,691 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kircher 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
3.5K
1 in 98,691
Census rank
#10,142
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,029 bearers of the surname Kircher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10142nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kircher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kircher
Among Census respondents with the surname Kircher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kircher 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 Kircher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,773
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 124
- Two or more races3.0% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 25
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kircher
Kircher 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
#8,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,765
+503 bearers (+15.4%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Up 482 places
2020
#10,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,029
-736 bearers (-19.5%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 1,428 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,196 | 3,262 | 1.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,714 | 3,765 | 1.28 | +503 bearers (+15.4%) | Up 482 places |
| 2020 | #10,142 | 3,029 | 1.01 | -736 bearers (-19.5%) | Down 1,428 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 Kircher 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 | #8,714 | #10,142 | -16.4% |
| Count | 3,765 | 3,029 | -19.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.01 | -20.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kircher bearers went from 3,765 to 3,029 (-19.5% change). The surname moved down 1,428 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,714 to #10,142.
FAQ
Kircher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kircher?
Name Census estimates that about 3,473 living Americans carry the surname Kircher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,691 residents.
How common is Kircher?
Kircher ranks #10,142 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,029 people with the surname Kircher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,473), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kircher.
Has Kircher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kircher went from 3,765 recorded bearers to 3,029. That is a decrease of 736 (-19.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,714 to #10,142.
What does the Census say about the background of Kircher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kircher, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Kircher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,773 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kircher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Kircher (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 Kircher mean?
Derived from the German word "Kirche," meaning church, likely referring to someone who lived near or worked at a church. 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 Kircher (1.01 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 Kircher?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.