2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Perschau
An occupational surname derived from German meaning "overseer" or "bailiff."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Perschau. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Perschau 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Perschau in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Perschau, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Perschau
The surname Perschau is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Perschau," which was a place name referring to a specific location or region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Perschau can be found in the 16th century records of the city of Hamburg, where a merchant named Hans Perschau is mentioned in a trade document dated 1568. Another notable early record is from the town of Torgau in Saxony, where a carpenter named Peter Perschau is documented in 1592.
In the 17th century, the name Perschau appears in various church records and tax rolls across various German principalities and states. For example, a Johann Perschau is listed as a landowner in the village of Großröhrsdorf, near Dresden, in 1621.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Perschau was a Lutheran pastor named Martin Perschau, who was born in 1586 in the town of Zittau, Saxony, and served as the minister of the St. Petri church in the nearby town of Ostritz from 1612 until his death in 1646.
Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Georg Perschau, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1670 to 1743. He was born in the town of Freiberg, Saxony, and later became a professor at the University of Leipzig, where he made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 19th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the surname Perschau was Carl Friedrich Perschau, a German composer and music theorist who was born in 1818 in the town of Neustadt an der Orla, Thuringia. He wrote several operas and orchestral works and is known for his contributions to the development of the Romantic music style in Germany.
While the surname Perschau is not as common today as it once was, it remains firmly rooted in its German origins and has a rich history spanning several centuries. The name has been carried by merchants, artisans, clergymen, scholars, and artists, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and achievements of those who bore it throughout the ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Perschau
Among Census respondents with the surname Perschau, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Perschau 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 Perschau surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Perschau
Perschau 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
+9 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 487 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,821 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 487 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,821 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 Perschau 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 | #142,049 | -2.0% |
| Count | 120 | 120 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Perschau bearers went from 120 to 120 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,821 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #142,049.
FAQ
Perschau surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Perschau?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Perschau. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Perschau?
Perschau ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Perschau. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Perschau.
Has Perschau become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Perschau went from 120 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Perschau?
Among Census respondents with the surname Perschau, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Perschau in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Perschau appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (3.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Perschau (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 Perschau mean?
An occupational surname derived from German meaning "overseer" or "bailiff." 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 Perschau (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 people have the last name Perschau?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Perschau on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.