2000
#8,601
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,522
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Tesch
Derived from the German word "tasch," meaning bag or pocket, likely referring to a bag maker or purse maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,015 Americans carry the last name Tesch. That puts it at #8,972 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,368 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tesch 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
4.0K
1 in 85,368
Census rank
#8,972
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,501 bearers of the surname Tesch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8972nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tesch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tesch
The surname Tesch is of German origin, originating in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "Teisk," meaning "thick" or "heavy," which was likely used as a descriptive nickname for a sturdy or muscular person.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Tesch can be found in various German records and chronicles from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable early bearer of the name was Heinrich Tesch, a merchant from the town of Lübeck, who is mentioned in a document dated 1295.
During the Middle Ages, the Tesch surname was primarily concentrated in the regions of northern Germany, particularly in the areas around Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck. It is closely associated with the Hanseatic League, a powerful medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in central and northern Europe.
In the 15th century, the name Tesch appeared in the Bürgermeisterbuch (Book of Burgomasters) of the city of Lübeck, which recorded the names of the city's governing council members. One such entry from 1487 mentions a certain Hinrich Tesch, who served as a member of the council.
The surname Tesch has also been found in various historical documents and records from other parts of Germany, such as the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg and the Principality of Halberstadt. In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johann Tesch, a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Lauenburg, who was born in 1510 and died in 1572.
Another prominent figure bearing the Tesch surname was Johann Philipp Tesch, a German author and philosopher who lived from 1701 to 1772. He was born in the town of Ludwigslust and is known for his work "Philosophische Betrachtungen über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele" (Philosophical Reflections on the Immortality of the Soul), published in 1737.
Throughout the centuries, the Tesch surname has also been associated with various professions and trades, including merchants, craftsmen, and scholars. In the 19th century, Carl Tesch (1816-1895) was a renowned German chemist and professor at the University of Halle, known for his contributions to analytical chemistry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tesch
Among Census respondents with the surname Tesch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Tesch 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 Tesch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 3,261
- Two or more races2.9% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
- Black or African American0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tesch
Tesch 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
#7,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,166
+644 bearers (+18.3%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Up 659 places
2020
#8,972
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,501
-665 bearers (-16.0%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 1,030 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,601 | 3,522 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,942 | 4,166 | 1.41 | +644 bearers (+18.3%) | Up 659 places |
| 2020 | #8,972 | 3,501 | 1.17 | -665 bearers (-16.0%) | Down 1,030 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 Tesch 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 | #7,942 | #8,972 | -13.0% |
| Count | 4,166 | 3,501 | -16.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.17 | -16.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tesch bearers went from 4,166 to 3,501 (-16.0% change). The surname moved down 1,030 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,942 to #8,972.
FAQ
Tesch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tesch?
Name Census estimates that about 4,015 living Americans carry the surname Tesch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,368 residents.
How common is Tesch?
Tesch ranks #8,972 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 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 3,501 people with the surname Tesch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,015), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 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 Tesch.
Has Tesch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tesch went from 4,166 recorded bearers to 3,501. That is a decrease of 665 (-16.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,942 to #8,972.
What does the Census say about the background of Tesch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tesch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Tesch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (3,261 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tesch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Tesch (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 Tesch mean?
Derived from the German word "tasch," meaning bag or pocket, likely referring to a bag maker or purse maker. 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 Tesch (1.17 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 common is the surname Tesch?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Tesch on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.