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

Kirsch, 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 Kirsch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kirsch in America

Kirsch is the 4050th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kirsch surname appeared 8,764 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Kirsch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kirsch 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 Kirsch

The surname Kirsch has its origins in German-speaking regions of Europe, specifically in the area that is now modern-day Germany. It dates back to the 12th century and is derived from the Middle High German word "kirsche," which means "cherry." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational name for someone who grew or sold cherries, or perhaps lived near cherry orchards.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kirsch can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the region of Brandenburg, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a person named "Henricus dictus Kirsche" is mentioned in 1261.

Another early reference to the name Kirsch appears in the chronicles of the city of Strasbourg, where a certain "Johannes Kirsche" is recorded as a resident in 1349. This suggests that the name was also present in the Alsace region of France during the medieval period.

The name Kirsch has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Kirschgarten, which means "cherry garden," and Kirschenbach, which means "cherry brook." These place names may have influenced the development of the surname or vice versa.

One notable individual with the surname Kirsch was Johann Peter Kirsch (1861-1940), a German artist and painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. Another was Karl Christian Kirsch (1904-1980), a German theologian and philosopher who worked on the concept of "existential guilt."

Other individuals bearing the surname Kirsch throughout history include:

1. Hans Kirsch (1520-1597), a German goldsmith and engraver.
2. Johann Adam Kirsch (1676-1748), a German painter and engraver.
3. Georg Friedrich Kirsch (1733-1805), a German mineralogist and geologist.
4. Johann Peter Kirsch (1807-1884), a German historian and archivist.
5. Paul Kirsch (1891-1984), a German mathematician and logician.

These examples illustrate the long history and diverse backgrounds of individuals with the surname Kirsch, which can be traced back to its origins as a name associated with cherry cultivation and trade in medieval Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kirsch

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

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

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

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