Find out how popular the last name Reichenbach is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Reichenbach.

Reichenbach, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Reichenbach surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reichenbach in America

Reichenbach is the 12566th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reichenbach surname appeared 2,463 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Reichenbach.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reichenbach to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Reichenbach

The surname Reichenbach has its origins in Germany, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the German words "reich" meaning "rich" and "bach" meaning "stream" or "brook". This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a plentiful stream or river.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Reichenbach can be found in historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. In some cases, the name was also spelled as Reichenpach or Reichenbach, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.

One notable mention of the name Reichenbach is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a 14th-century collection of documents related to the Anhalt region of Germany. This suggests that the name was present in that area during that time period.

The Reichenbach surname is also associated with several place names in Germany, such as Reichenbach im Vogtland, a town in the state of Saxony, and Reichenbach an der Fils, a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg. These place names likely contributed to the spread and popularization of the surname in those regions.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Reichenbach. One example is Georg Reichenbach (1772-1826), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and classification.

Another prominent figure was Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (1824-1889), a German ornithologist and naturalist who specialized in the study of birds and published several influential works on avian taxonomy and behavior.

In the field of music, Walter Reichenbach (1901-1992) was a German composer and conductor who was known for his contributions to film and theater music in the 20th century.

The name Reichenbach also appears in the literary world, with Hans Reichenbach (1891-1953), a German-American philosopher and logician who made significant contributions to the philosophy of science and the study of probability theory.

Finally, Ulrich Reichenbach (born 1938) is a German film director and screenwriter who has directed several critically acclaimed films, including "The Tin Drum" (1979), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reichenbach

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Reichenbach.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Reichenbach was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Reichenbach has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Reichenbach was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Reichenbach, please contact us.

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