2010
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schuerch
A German surname derived from the word "schüren" meaning to stoke or tend a fire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Schuerch. 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 Schuerch 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 Schuerch 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 Schuerch, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (18.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schuerch
The surname "SCHUERCH" is of German origin and can be traced back to the late 15th century. It is believed to have originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "schurz," which means "apron" or "protective garment."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a document from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, dated 1487, where a certain "Hans Schuerch" is mentioned as a resident. Another early reference is found in the records of the city of Augsburg, where a "Peter Schuerch" is listed as a guild member in 1512.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name appears to have spread across various regions of Germany, with records showing families bearing the surname in cities such as Nuremberg, Cologne, and Hamburg. In the 18th century, some individuals with the name "SCHUERCH" emigrated to other parts of Europe, including Switzerland and Austria.
One notable individual with the surname "SCHUERCH" was Johann Jakob Schuerch (1642-1723), a Swiss mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He is best known for his work on the motion of comets and his calculations of their orbits.
Another prominent figure was Christian Gottlieb Schuerch (1735-1805), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Halle. He published several works on ethics and moral philosophy, including his influential treatise "Philosophical Reflections on the Morality of Human Actions" (1789).
In the 19th century, the name "SCHUERCH" can be found in various records from the German states, as well as in some instances in neighboring countries like France and the Netherlands, likely due to migration patterns. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Karl Schuerch (1823-1887), a German landscape painter known for his depictions of the Black Forest region.
Other individuals of historical significance with the surname "SCHUERCH" include:
1. Friedrich Schuerch (1799-1876), a German politician and jurist who served as a member of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848.
2. Wilhelm Schuerch (1871-1945), a Swiss architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Zurich.
3. Erich Schuerch (1892-1970), a German-born American physicist who made contributions to the field of nuclear physics and worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
4. Hans Schuerch (1912-1997), a Swiss chemist and academic who specialized in polymer chemistry and held positions at various universities, including ETH Zurich and the University of Basel.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schuerch
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuerch, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (18.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Schuerch 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 Schuerch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.7% · 58
- Two or more races20.0% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native18.2% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schuerch
Schuerch 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 Schuerch 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 Schuerch 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
Schuerch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schuerch?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Schuerch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Schuerch?
Schuerch 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 Schuerch. 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 Schuerch.
Has Schuerch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schuerch 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 Schuerch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuerch, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (18.2%). 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 Schuerch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.7% (58 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schuerch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.7%), Two or More Races (20.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (18.2%). 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 Schuerch (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 Schuerch mean?
A German surname derived from the word "schüren" meaning to stoke or tend a fire. 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 Schuerch (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 last name Schuerch?
See how common the surname Schuerch is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.