2000
#18,857
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,341
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.50
Rare Last name
Uhrig
A surname of German origin meaning from a village or place called Uhrau.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,457 Americans carry the last name Uhrig. That puts it at #21,026 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 235,247 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Uhrig 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
1.5K
1 in 235,247
Census rank
#21,026
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,271 bearers of the surname Uhrig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 21026th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Uhrig, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Uhrig
The surname Uhrig originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the early 14th century. It is a locational name, derived from the town of Uhrig located in the Rhineland region of western Germany. The name is thought to have evolved from the Old German word "uhro" meaning "auroch" or "wild ox."
In medieval times, the Uhrig family were landowners and local nobility in the Rhineland area. Records from the 1300s mention an Ulrich von Uhrig who served as a knight and advisor to the Archbishop of Cologne. His descendants carried on the Uhrig name and were prominent figures in the region for several centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the Uhrig surname appears in the Wormser Chronik, a historical chronicle from the city of Worms, dated around 1420. It mentions a certain Johannes Uhrig who was a respected tradesman and member of the city council.
By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany as well as neighboring regions. The earliest recorded birth of an Uhrig was Hans Uhrig, born in 1512 in the town of Heidelberg. Another notable early bearer was Peter Uhrig (1541-1610), a Protestant theologian who taught at the University of Heidelberg.
As the Uhrig family dispersed over the centuries, variations in spelling emerged, such as Uhrich, Urig, and Urhig. Some branches of the family adopted the name as a first name instead of a surname. A famous example is the German philosopher Johann Uhrig Cramer (1678-1744), known for his works on logic and metaphysics.
Other individuals of note who carried the Uhrig surname include Carl Uhrig (1789-1845), a Prussian military officer and veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, and Wilhelm Uhrig (1826-1899), a Lutheran pastor and author from Saxony. More recently, there was Johannes Uhrig (1899-1972), a German politician who served as a member of the Bundestag from 1949 to 1965.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Uhrig
Among Census respondents with the surname Uhrig, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Uhrig 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 Uhrig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 1,149
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 80
- Two or more races2.4% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Uhrig
Uhrig 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
#19,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,339
-2 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.45
Rank movement Down 1,140 places
2020
#21,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,271
-68 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Down 1,029 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,857 | 1,341 | 0.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,997 | 1,339 | 0.45 | -2 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 1,140 places |
| 2020 | #21,026 | 1,271 | 0.43 | -68 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 1,029 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 Uhrig 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 | #19,997 | #21,026 | -5.1% |
| Count | 1,339 | 1,271 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.45 | 0.43 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Uhrig bearers went from 1,339 to 1,271 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 1,029 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,997 to #21,026.
FAQ
Uhrig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Uhrig?
Name Census estimates that about 1,457 living Americans carry the surname Uhrig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 235,247 residents.
How common is Uhrig?
Uhrig ranks #21,026 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.43 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 1,271 people with the surname Uhrig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,457), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.43 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 Uhrig.
Has Uhrig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Uhrig went from 1,339 recorded bearers to 1,271. That is a decrease of 68 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,997 to #21,026.
What does the Census say about the background of Uhrig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Uhrig, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Uhrig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (1,149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Uhrig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (6.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Uhrig (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 Uhrig mean?
A surname of German origin meaning from a village or place called Uhrau. 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 Uhrig (0.43 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 Uhrig?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Uhrig? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.