2000
#10,438
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,827
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Scher
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a Jewish ritual circumciser or mohel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,183 Americans carry the last name Scher. That puts it at #10,961 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,683 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scher 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
3.2K
1 in 107,683
Census rank
#10,961
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,776 bearers of the surname Scher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10961st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scher, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scher
Among Census respondents with the surname Scher, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Scher 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 Scher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,588
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 93
- Two or more races2.3% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 19
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scher
Scher 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
#10,006
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,222
+395 bearers (+14.0%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 432 places
2020
#10,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,776
-446 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 955 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,438 | 2,827 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,006 | 3,222 | 1.09 | +395 bearers (+14.0%) | Up 432 places |
| 2020 | #10,961 | 2,776 | 0.93 | -446 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 955 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 Scher 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 | #10,006 | #10,961 | -9.5% |
| Count | 3,222 | 2,776 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 0.93 | -14.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scher bearers went from 3,222 to 2,776 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 955 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,006 to #10,961.
FAQ
Scher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scher?
Name Census estimates that about 3,183 living Americans carry the surname Scher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,683 residents.
How common is Scher?
Scher ranks #10,961 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,776 people with the surname Scher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,183), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Scher.
Has Scher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scher went from 3,222 recorded bearers to 2,776. That is a decrease of 446 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,006 to #10,961.
What does the Census say about the background of Scher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scher, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Scher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,588 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Scher (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 Scher mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a Jewish ritual circumciser or mohel. 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 Scher (0.93 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 are called Scher?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Scher on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.