2000
#7,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,883
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.44
Rare Last name
Schreck
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning "fear" or "terror," derived from the Middle High German word "schrecken."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,448 Americans carry the last name Schreck. That puts it at #8,175 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,058 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schreck 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
4.4K
1 in 77,058
Census rank
#8,175
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,879 bearers of the surname Schreck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8175th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schreck, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schreck
The surname Schreck has its origins in Germany, emerging during the Middle Ages around the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "schrec," which means "fright" or "terror." This indicates that the name may have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a particularly intimidating or fierce demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schreck appears in the Reichsteuerlisten (Imperial Tax Rolls) of 1497, where a certain Claus Schreck is mentioned as a resident of Silesia, a region that now spans parts of modern-day Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The name is also found in various other historical documents from the 15th and 16th centuries in areas such as Bavaria and Saxony.
In the 17th century, the Schreck name gained some prominence with the birth of Nicolaus Schreck (1629-1700), a German Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled to South America and is known for his detailed accounts of the indigenous cultures he encountered. Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Franz Schreck (1755-1833), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
The 19th century saw the rise of two prominent figures with the Schreck surname. The first was Gustav Schreck (1849-1918), a German-American entrepreneur who founded the Schreck Distilling Company in Chicago, which became one of the largest producers of whiskey in the United States. The second was Anton Schreck (1860-1934), an Austrian-born actor and stage director who was a leading figure in the Viennese theatre scene and served as the director of the Burgtheater, one of the most prestigious German-language theatres in the world.
Another noteworthy individual with the Schreck surname was Max Schreck (1879-1936), a German actor best known for his legendary portrayal of Count Orlok in the 1922 silent horror film "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens" (Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror), which is considered a pioneering work in the genre of Gothic horror cinema.
In addition to these individuals, the Schreck name has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany and Austria, such as Schreckbach (a river in Bavaria) and Schreckenstein (a ruined castle near the town of Annweiler am Trifels in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schreck
Among Census respondents with the surname Schreck, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Schreck 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 Schreck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 3,629
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 106
- Two or more races2.5% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 29
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schreck
Schreck 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
#8,030
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,122
+239 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 121 places
2020
#8,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,879
-243 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 145 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,909 | 3,883 | 1.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,030 | 4,122 | 1.40 | +239 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 121 places |
| 2020 | #8,175 | 3,879 | 1.30 | -243 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 145 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 Schreck 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 | #8,030 | #8,175 | -1.8% |
| Count | 4,122 | 3,879 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.30 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schreck bearers went from 4,122 to 3,879 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 145 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,030 to #8,175.
FAQ
Schreck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schreck?
Name Census estimates that about 4,448 living Americans carry the surname Schreck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,058 residents.
How common is Schreck?
Schreck ranks #8,175 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.30 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 3,879 people with the surname Schreck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,448), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.30 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 Schreck.
Has Schreck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schreck went from 4,122 recorded bearers to 3,879. That is a decrease of 243 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,030 to #8,175.
What does the Census say about the background of Schreck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schreck, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Schreck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (3,629 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schreck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Schreck (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 Schreck mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning "fear" or "terror," derived from the Middle High German word "schrecken." 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 Schreck (1.30 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 Schreck?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Schreck on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.