2000
#121,780
National surname rank
First available Census row
A surname believed to derive from a geographic location in Croatia or Slovenia.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Modrich. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Modrich 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Modrich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Modrich, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
The surname MODRICH is of Croatian origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in the region now known as Croatia. It is believed to have originated as a toponymic surname, derived from the name of a place or geographic location.
One possible theory suggests that the name MODRICH may have evolved from the Slavic word "modry," meaning "blue" or "green." This could indicate that the name was initially associated with a person who lived near a body of water with a distinct blue or greenish hue, such as a lake or river.
Another hypothesis proposes that MODRICH may be linked to the Croatian word "modar," which translates to "bruise" or "contusion." This could signify that the name was initially bestowed upon an individual who sustained a notable injury or had a distinctive physical characteristic related to bruising.
Historical records from the 14th century mention individuals bearing the MODRICH surname in the Croatian regions of Dalmatia and Slavonia. One of the earliest documented instances is found in a manuscript from 1347, which refers to a certain Petar MODRICH, a landowner in the village of Modric near the city of Zadar.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Nikola MODRICH (1528-1592) gained recognition as a skilled navigator and cartographer. He is credited with creating detailed maps of the Adriatic Sea and the eastern Mediterranean region, which were widely used by sailors and merchants during that era.
The 17th century saw the rise of Ivan MODRICH (1617-1688), a renowned Croatian architect who played a significant role in the construction of several notable buildings in the cities of Split and Trogir. His most celebrated work is the Cathedral of St. Lawrence in Trogir, which is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the 19th century, a Croatian writer and poet named Ante MODRICH (1819-1878) gained literary acclaim for his contributions to the development of the Croatian language and literature. His poems and works celebrating Croatian cultural heritage and national identity were influential during the Croatian National Revival movement.
Another notable figure was Marija MODRICH (1878-1947), a Croatian educator and women's rights activist who fought for equal educational opportunities for girls and women in the early 20th century. She established several schools and educational institutions, leaving a lasting impact on the advancement of women's education in Croatia.
Demographics
Among Census respondents with the surname Modrich, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Modrich 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 Modrich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
Timeline
Modrich 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.
2000
National surname rank
First available Census row
2010
National surname rank
-5 bearers (-3.8%)
2020
National surname rank
-10 bearers (-7.9%)
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 12,083 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 11,165 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
How has the Modrich surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #133,863 | #145,028 | -8.3% |
| Count | 126 | 116 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Modrich bearers went from 126 to 116 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 11,165 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #145,028.
FAQ
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Modrich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
Modrich ranks #145,028 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.
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Modrich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
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 Modrich.
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Modrich went from 126 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #145,028.
Among Census respondents with the surname Modrich, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Modrich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (105 people in the source table).
Modrich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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.
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 Modrich (2000, 2010, 2020).
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.
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.
A surname believed to derive from a geographic location in Croatia or Slovenia. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
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.
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 Modrich (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.
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.