2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Merhoff
A locational surname derived from a place name in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Merhoff. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Merhoff 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Merhoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Merhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Merhoff
The surname Merhoff has its origins in Germany, dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Low German words "mer" and "hof," which translate to "sea" and "farm" or "estate," respectively. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to individuals who resided or worked on a coastal farm or estate.
The earliest known records of the Merhoff surname can be found in the German regions of Mecklenburg and Pomerania, particularly in areas near the Baltic Sea. Some of the earliest spellings of the name include Meerhoffe, Merhove, and Merhoffe, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in spelling conventions of the time.
In the 17th century, there are references to a family of Merhoffs residing in the town of Neubrandenburg, located in the modern-day state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. One notable individual from this period was Hans Merhoff (1612-1679), a merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the local economy.
As the Merhoff family spread across Germany and other parts of Europe, the name underwent further variations in spelling, such as Merhof, Merhoff, and Merhöff. In the late 18th century, Johann Heinrich Merhoff (1738-1805) was a prominent Lutheran theologian and author from the city of Greifswald, in what is now northeastern Germany.
Another noteworthy individual bearing the Merhoff name was Wilhelm Merhoff (1819-1873), a German-American architect and civil engineer who emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. He is credited with designing several notable buildings in New York City, including the Old New York Hospital and the Union Theological Seminary.
In the 20th century, a notable figure with the Merhoff surname was the German artist and illustrator Otto Merhoff (1892-1961), known for his works depicting rural life and landscapes in his native region of Mecklenburg.
While the Merhoff name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through emigration and migration patterns over the centuries. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the coastal regions of northern Germany, where it likely originated as a descriptive surname related to coastal farming or estates.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merhoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Merhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Merhoff 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 Merhoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 8
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Merhoff
Merhoff appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-9 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,929 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 6,929 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 Merhoff 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 | #147,253 | #154,182 | -4.7% |
| Count | 112 | 103 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Merhoff bearers went from 112 to 103 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 6,929 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #154,182.
FAQ
Merhoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Merhoff?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Merhoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Merhoff?
Merhoff ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Merhoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Merhoff.
Has Merhoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Merhoff went from 112 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Merhoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Merhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (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 Merhoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Merhoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (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 Merhoff (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 Merhoff mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name in Germany. 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 Merhoff (0.03 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 Merhoff?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Merhoff on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.