2000
#10,650
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,757
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Schorr
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to someone who earns a living as a barber or shearer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,890 Americans carry the last name Schorr. That puts it at #11,880 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,600 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schorr 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
2.9K
1 in 118,600
Census rank
#11,880
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,520 bearers of the surname Schorr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11880th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schorr, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schorr
The surname Schorr is of German origin, with its roots dating back to the early medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "schor," which means a boundary or border, suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a marked boundary or border region.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Schorr can be traced back to the 13th century in various German-speaking regions, particularly in the areas now known as Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest documented spellings include Schorre, Schurre, and Schurra, reflecting the variations in orthography common during that era.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Schorr, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Eschau, near present-day Nuremberg, in the late 13th century. Records from this period indicate that he was involved in several land disputes, which may have contributed to the association of his surname with boundary markers.
In the 14th century, the Schorr family was mentioned in the Nuremberg Burgerbuch, a register of citizens, indicating their presence in the influential city-state of Nuremberg. Another notable figure from this time was Hildebrand Schorr, a merchant and trader who traveled extensively throughout the Holy Roman Empire.
During the Renaissance period, the name Schorr gained recognition through the contributions of several scholars and intellectuals. One notable example is Christoph Schorr, a humanist scholar and professor at the University of Leipzig, who lived from 1499 to 1572. His works on classical literature and philosophy were widely influential during the Renaissance.
In the 17th century, the Schorr family had a notable presence in the region of Saxony, with several members serving in various administrative and military roles. One such figure was Johann Georg Schorr, a military officer who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and later served as a regional governor in Saxony.
The 19th century saw the rise of several prominent individuals bearing the Schorr surname. One of the most notable was Karl Schorr, a German philologist and linguist who lived from 1801 to 1883. He made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages and published influential works on the subject.
As the name Schorr spread beyond its German origins, it also gained recognition in other parts of Europe and the Americas. In the 20th century, one of the most famous bearers of the name was the American author and journalist Naomi Schorr (1913-2002), who wrote extensively on social and political issues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schorr
Among Census respondents with the surname Schorr, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Schorr 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 Schorr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,351
- Two or more races2.9% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 23
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schorr
Schorr 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
#10,505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,055
+298 bearers (+10.8%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Up 145 places
2020
#11,880
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,520
-535 bearers (-17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 1,375 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,650 | 2,757 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,505 | 3,055 | 1.04 | +298 bearers (+10.8%) | Up 145 places |
| 2020 | #11,880 | 2,520 | 0.84 | -535 bearers (-17.5%) | Down 1,375 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 Schorr 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 | #10,505 | #11,880 | -13.1% |
| Count | 3,055 | 2,520 | -17.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.04 | 0.84 | -18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schorr bearers went from 3,055 to 2,520 (-17.5% change). The surname moved down 1,375 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,505 to #11,880.
FAQ
Schorr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schorr?
Name Census estimates that about 2,890 living Americans carry the surname Schorr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,600 residents.
How common is Schorr?
Schorr ranks #11,880 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,520 people with the surname Schorr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,890), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Schorr.
Has Schorr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schorr went from 3,055 recorded bearers to 2,520. That is a decrease of 535 (-17.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,505 to #11,880.
What does the Census say about the background of Schorr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schorr, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Schorr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,351 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schorr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Schorr (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 Schorr mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to someone who earns a living as a barber or shearer. 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 Schorr (0.84 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 last name Schorr?
See how many people have the surname Schorr on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.