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

Scher, 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 Scher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scher in America

Scher is the 10006th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scher surname appeared 3,222 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 Scher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scher 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 Scher

The surname SCHER is of German origin, emerging in the late Middle Ages around the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "scheren," which means "to shear" or "to cut." This suggests that the name may have originated among those who worked as cloth shearers or sheep shearers.

The earliest recorded instances of the SCHER surname can be traced to the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in present-day Germany. It is likely that the name was initially an occupational surname, given to individuals or families involved in the textile or wool trade.

In the 15th century, the surname SCHER is mentioned in various municipal records and tax rolls in cities such as Nuremberg and Dresden. These early records often feature variations in spelling, including Scherer, Schär, and Scheerer.

One notable historical figure bearing the SCHER surname was Johann Scher, a German painter and engraver born in Bamberg in 1472. His works included religious paintings and woodcuts, which can be found in churches and museums throughout Germany.

Another notable individual was Gottfried Scher, a German theologian and scholar who lived from 1629 to 1697. He served as a professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Leipzig and authored several influential works on theology and logic.

In the 18th century, the SCHER surname appeared in several genealogical records and parish registers in the regions of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg. One such record mentions a Johann Scher, born in 1723 in the village of Oberschefflenz, who later became a respected farmer and landowner.

As the SCHER surname spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions, it also found its way into other European countries. In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the name was the Austrian painter Jakob Scher, who was born in Vienna in 1826 and was renowned for his landscape paintings and portraits.

Another significant figure was Friedrich Scher, a German-American engineer and inventor who lived from 1858 to 1942. He emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and contributed to the development of early motion picture technology, holding several patents related to film projection and camera design.

While the SCHER surname has its roots in Germany, it has since become dispersed across various parts of the world, carried by descendants of German immigrants and those of German ancestry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scher

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

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 Scher 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 Scher 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 Scher was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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