2010
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schierl
An occupational name derived from Middle High German "schirlitz" meaning cloth cutter or tailor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Schierl. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schierl 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Schierl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schierl, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schierl
The surname SCHIERL is of German origin, originating in the southern regions of Bavaria and Austria. It is believed to have derived from the German word "schierl," which means a splinter or chip of wood. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname initially associated with woodworkers or carpenters.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SCHIERL can be traced back to the 16th century in the town of Traunstein, located in the modern-day state of Bavaria, Germany. In a registry from 1582, a certain Hans Schierl was listed as a resident of the town.
During the medieval period, the name SCHIERL appeared in various historical records and documents, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Austria. For instance, in the 14th-century Weissenburger Handschrift, a manuscript containing legal codes and regulations, there is a mention of a certain Ulrich Schierl.
Notable individuals with the surname SCHIERL throughout history include Johann Nepomuk Schierl (1781-1838), a Bavarian Catholic priest and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Munich. Another notable figure was Josef Schierl (1856-1933), an Austrian painter and artist known for his landscapes and religious works.
In the 19th century, the SCHIERL name was also associated with a prominent family of brewers and innkeepers in the city of Straubing, Bavaria. One member of this family, Georg Schierl (1824-1892), established the Schierl Brewery, which became a successful enterprise in the region.
Additionally, the SCHIERL surname has been linked to several place names in southern Germany and Austria, such as Schierlsee, a lake in Bavaria, and Schierlinger Claus, a mountain peak in the Austrian Alps.
Another notable figure bearing the SCHIERL name was Maximilian Schierl (1856-1918), a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the development of Munich's urban landscape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was responsible for designing several prominent buildings and public spaces in the city.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schierl
Among Census respondents with the surname Schierl, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Schierl 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 Schierl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 102
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schierl
Schierl appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-5 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,305 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 5,305 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 Schierl 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 | #144,141 | #149,446 | -3.7% |
| Count | 115 | 110 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schierl bearers went from 115 to 110 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 5,305 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #149,446.
FAQ
Schierl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schierl?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Schierl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Schierl?
Schierl ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Schierl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Schierl.
Has Schierl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schierl went from 115 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Schierl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schierl, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Schierl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schierl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Black (1.8%). 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 Schierl (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 Schierl mean?
An occupational name derived from Middle High German "schirlitz" meaning cloth cutter or tailor. 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 Schierl (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 surname Schierl?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.