Mehren last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Mehren

A locational surname derived from places named Mehren in Germany.

Mehren, 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 Mehren surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mehren in America

Mehren is the 95955th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mehren surname appeared 190 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Mehren.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mehren 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank95955100194-4.32%
Count19016712.89%
Proportion per 100k0.060.060.00%

The history of the last name Mehren

The surname "MEHREN" originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "meri," meaning "lake" or "sea," and was likely initially used as a locational surname to identify someone who lived near a lake or body of water.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a person named "Merino" is mentioned in a document dated 1144. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially been spelled "Merin" or "Meren" before evolving into its current form.

In the 13th century, the name "MEHREN" can be found in various records from the region of Westphalia in northwestern Germany. It is possible that the name may have originated from a place name such as "Mehren" or "Mehringen," both of which were small villages in this area.

During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname "MEHREN" was Johann Mehren, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1516 to 1591. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and served as a pastor in various cities throughout Germany.

Another historical figure with this surname was Johann Mehren von Arnstedt, a German nobleman and military officer who lived from 1624 to 1688. He served in the Thirty Years' War and was known for his bravery and leadership on the battlefield.

In the 18th century, the name "MEHREN" appears in records from the city of Hamburg, where a merchant named Johann Mehren (1701-1778) was a prominent figure in the city's trade guild.

During the 19th century, a notable individual with this surname was Karl Mehren, a German orientalist and linguist who lived from 1825 to 1887. He was an expert in Arabic and Persian studies and made significant contributions to the field of Middle Eastern languages and literature.

Another individual of note was Friedrich Mehren, a German painter and artist who lived from 1869 to 1939. He was known for his landscape paintings and was part of the Düsseldorf school of painting.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mehren

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

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 Mehren was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only95.26%181
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

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 Mehren has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White95.26%97.60%-2.43%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%0.00%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic(S)%(S)%(S)%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.

Search
Search
Background shape