2000
#11,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,545
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Murr
A German and English occupational surname referring to someone who built or worked with stone walls.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,643 Americans carry the last name Murr. That puts it at #12,774 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,684 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Murr 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Murr with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 129,684
Census rank
#12,774
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,305 bearers of the surname Murr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12774th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Murr, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Murr
The surname Murr is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period, specifically in the region of Bavaria. It is thought to be derived from the Middle High German word "murren," which means "to grumble" or "to murmur." This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname given to someone who was known for their tendency to grumble or complain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Murr can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Emmerami, a medieval manuscript from the 11th century that documents the property holdings and transactions of the Benedictine monastery of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, Bavaria. In this document, a certain "Mur" is mentioned as a witness to a land transfer in the year 1055.
Another early reference to the name Murr comes from the Weingartner Liederhandschrift, a 13th-century manuscript that contains a collection of Middle High German courtly love songs and poems. One of the poems is attributed to a certain "Herr Murre," which could be an early spelling variation of the name Murr.
In the 14th century, there are records of a family with the surname Murr residing in the town of Nürnberg (Nuremberg), which was a major center of trade and commerce in medieval Germany. One notable member of this family was Hans Murr, a merchant and city councilor who lived from around 1380 to 1445.
During the Renaissance period, a prominent figure with the surname Murr was Johann Baptist Murr (1717-1788), a German historian and librarian who served as the director of the Bavarian Court and State Library in Munich. He was renowned for his extensive writings on various topics, including the history of Bavaria and the genealogy of noble families.
In the 19th century, a well-known bearer of the name Murr was the German writer and satirist Christoph Friedrich Murr (1803-1856), who published several works of literary criticism and social commentary under the pen name "Murr the Cat."
Another notable person with the surname Murr was the German artist and printmaker Eduard Murr (1836-1892), who was known for his etchings and lithographs depicting scenes of daily life in Munich and other Bavarian cities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murr
Among Census respondents with the surname Murr, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Murr 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 Murr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 2,073
- Two or more races4.0% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 31
- Black or African American0.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Murr
Murr 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
#12,148
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,565
+20 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 782 places
2020
#12,774
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,305
-260 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 626 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,366 | 2,545 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,148 | 2,565 | 0.87 | +20 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 782 places |
| 2020 | #12,774 | 2,305 | 0.77 | -260 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 626 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 Murr 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 | #12,148 | #12,774 | -5.2% |
| Count | 2,565 | 2,305 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.77 | -11.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Murr bearers went from 2,565 to 2,305 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 626 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,148 to #12,774.
FAQ
Murr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Murr?
Name Census estimates that about 2,643 living Americans carry the surname Murr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,684 residents.
How common is Murr?
Murr ranks #12,774 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,305 people with the surname Murr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,643), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Murr.
Has Murr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Murr went from 2,565 recorded bearers to 2,305. That is a decrease of 260 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,148 to #12,774.
What does the Census say about the background of Murr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Murr, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Murr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (2,073 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Murr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Murr (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 Murr mean?
A German and English occupational surname referring to someone who built or worked with stone walls. 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 Murr (0.77 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 share the surname Murr?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.