Schlegelmilch last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Schlegelmilch

A German surname possibly derived from the words "Schlegel" meaning "flail" and "Milch" meaning "milk", perhaps originally describing an agricultural occupation.

Schlegelmilch, 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 Schlegelmilch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schlegelmilch in America

Schlegelmilch is the 52482nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schlegelmilch surname appeared 395 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Schlegelmilch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schlegelmilch 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 52482 54385 -3.56%
Count 395 355 10.67%
Proportion per 100k 0.13 0.13 0.00%

The history of the last name Schlegelmilch

The surname Schlegelmilch has its origins in the German language. It is derived from the combination of two words: "Schlegel" meaning a wooden mallet or hammer, and "Milch" meaning milk. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who used a mallet to churn milk or process dairy products.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Schlegelmilch can be traced back to the 16th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country. Some historical records from that time mention individuals with this surname living in towns and villages around areas like Lower Saxony and Thuringia.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Schlegelmilch, a dairy farmer who lived in the village of Wittenburg, near Kassel, in the late 16th century. Records from the local church archives mention his name and occupation.

In the 17th century, the Schlegelmilch family had spread to other parts of Germany, with some members settling in cities like Hamburg and Leipzig. A notable figure from this period was Johann Schlegelmilch (1592-1667), a merchant and guild member in Hamburg, who is mentioned in the city's trade records.

During the 18th century, the Schlegelmilch surname continued to be found across various German states and principalities. One notable bearer of the name was Christian Schlegelmilch (1730-1802), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony, who wrote several influential works on religious philosophy.

As the 19th century progressed, the Schlegelmilch family had members living in various parts of the German-speaking world, including Prussia, Bavaria, and Austria. One prominent individual was Gustav Schlegelmilch (1846-1923), a mathematician and university professor from Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), who made significant contributions to the field of probability theory.

Throughout its history, the surname Schlegelmilch has maintained its German roots and has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, merchants, scholars, and professionals. While the name may have originated from a specific occupation involving dairy production, it has since become a well-established surname in German-speaking regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schlegelmilch

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

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 Schlegelmilch was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.20% 380
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.78% 11

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 Schlegelmilch has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.20% 96.06% 0.15%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.41% (S)%
Hispanic 2.78% 2.25% 21.07%

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

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

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"Schlegelmilch last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 11, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/schlegelmilch-surname-popularity/.

"Schlegelmilch last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/schlegelmilch-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 May, 2025

Schlegelmilch last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/schlegelmilch-surname-popularity/.

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