2000
#11,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Strauch
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with brushwood or a thicket.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,757 Americans carry the last name Strauch. That puts it at #12,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,321 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Strauch 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
2.8K
1 in 124,321
Census rank
#12,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,404 bearers of the surname Strauch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Strauch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Strauch
The surname Strauch is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word "strūch" which translates to "shrub" or "bush." This name likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to someone who lived near a notable shrub or bush.
The earliest recorded use of the name Strauch dates back to the 14th century in the German region of Bavaria. Historical records from this time period show variations in spelling such as "Strūch," "Strauche," and "Straucher."
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Strauch, a farmer who lived in the village of Oberammergau in the late 15th century. His name appears in tax records from the year 1487.
The Strauch name is also found in the renowned Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents and manuscripts from the 9th to the 15th centuries. This suggests that the name had spread to various parts of Germany by the Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Strauch surname was Johann Strauch, a renowned mathematician and astronomer born in Lübeck in 1512. He published several works on celestial mechanics and navigation.
Another prominent individual was Friedrich Strauch, a German poet and playwright who lived from 1776 to 1835. He was known for his romantic tragedies and plays, which were popular in his time.
In the 19th century, the name Strauch was associated with the town of Strauch in the Prussian province of Silesia (now in modern-day Poland). The town's name likely derived from the same Middle High German root as the surname.
One of the most famous bearers of the Strauch name was Max Strauch, a German-American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1888 to 1965. He founded the Strauch Corporation, a successful manufacturing company, and donated generously to various educational and cultural institutions.
Overall, the surname Strauch has a rich history dating back to medieval Germany, with its origins rooted in the German language and likely referring to someone who lived near a notable shrub or bush.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Strauch
Among Census respondents with the surname Strauch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Strauch 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 Strauch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,242
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 82
- Two or more races2.0% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Strauch
Strauch 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
#12,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,522
+24 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 785 places
2020
#12,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,404
-118 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,543 | 2,498 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,328 | 2,522 | 0.85 | +24 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 785 places |
| 2020 | #12,339 | 2,404 | 0.80 | -118 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 11 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 Strauch 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 | #12,328 | #12,339 | -0.1% |
| Count | 2,522 | 2,404 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.80 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Strauch bearers went from 2,522 to 2,404 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,328 to #12,339.
FAQ
Strauch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Strauch?
Name Census estimates that about 2,757 living Americans carry the surname Strauch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,321 residents.
How common is Strauch?
Strauch ranks #12,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,404 people with the surname Strauch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,757), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Strauch.
Has Strauch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Strauch went from 2,522 recorded bearers to 2,404. That is a decrease of 118 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,328 to #12,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Strauch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Strauch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Strauch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,242 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Strauch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Strauch (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 Strauch mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with brushwood or a thicket. 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 Strauch (0.80 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 share the surname Strauch?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.