2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Mierisch
A surname derived from a place name meaning "marsh" or "marshy area".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Mierisch. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mierisch 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Mierisch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mierisch, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mierisch
The surname Mierisch is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period around the 13th to 15th centuries. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Miere," which translates to "ant" in English. This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname or occupation-based surname referring to someone who either worked with ants or was associated with them in some way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Mierisch can be found in a 14th-century document from the region of Saxony, where a certain Johannes Mierisch was mentioned as a landowner. This indicates that the name had already established itself as a hereditary surname by that time.
In the 16th century, the Mierisch family is known to have resided in the town of Zwickau, located in the modern-day state of Saxony, Germany. A notable figure from this era was Hans Mierisch (1521-1589), a prominent merchant and member of the town council.
During the 17th century, the name spread to other parts of Germany, including the region of Bavaria. Peter Mierisch (1628-1694), a Bavarian theologian and author of several religious texts, was a prominent figure from this time period.
The 18th century saw the emergence of Johann Gottfried Mierisch (1705-1776), a German philosopher and educator who authored several works on ethics and moral philosophy. He was a respected figure in academic circles of his time.
In the 19th century, the Mierisch surname gained further recognition through the achievements of Karl Mierisch (1821-1887), a German industrialist and entrepreneur who founded a successful textile manufacturing company in the city of Chemnitz, Saxony.
Throughout history, variations in spelling have occurred, including Mieresch, Mieresche, and Miresch, but the core form of Mierisch has remained relatively consistent over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mierisch
Among Census respondents with the surname Mierisch, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Mierisch 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 Mierisch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino19.7% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mierisch
Mierisch 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,431 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,042 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 10,431 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,042 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 Mierisch 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 | #139,228 | #144,270 | -3.6% |
| Count | 120 | 117 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mierisch bearers went from 120 to 117 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,042 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #144,270.
FAQ
Mierisch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mierisch?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Mierisch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Mierisch?
Mierisch ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Mierisch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Mierisch.
Has Mierisch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mierisch went from 120 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Mierisch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mierisch, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%). 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 Mierisch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mierisch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.3%), Hispanic (19.7%). 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 Mierisch (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 Mierisch mean?
A surname derived from a place name meaning "marsh" or "marshy area". 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 Mierisch (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Mierisch?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.