2000
#43,290
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 470
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Umbach
A German habitational name derived from any of several places named Umbach.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 532 Americans carry the last name Umbach. That puts it at #49,062 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 644,275 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Umbach 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
532
1 in 644,275
Census rank
#49,062
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
464
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 464 bearers of the surname Umbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 49062nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Umbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Umbach
The surname Umbach originated in the region of Germany, specifically in the areas around the Rhine and Mosel rivers. The name dates back to the early Middle Ages, around the 9th or 10th century. It is derived from the Old High German words "um" meaning "near" and "bach" meaning "stream" or "brook." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near a small stream or brook.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Umbach can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the German state of Hesse, dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Umbach, Umbach, and Ummbach, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time.
In the 13th century, the name Umbach appears in the records of the town of Andernach, located on the Rhine River. This suggests that the name was well-established in the region by this time. The town of Umbach, located in the Palatinate region of Germany, likely took its name from the surname, further indicating the name's deep roots in the area.
One notable individual with the Umbach surname was Johann Umbach, a German printer and publisher who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is credited with printing several important works, including the first edition of the Hortus Sanitatis, an influential early printed book on natural history and medicine.
Another historical figure with the Umbach surname was Kaspar Umbach, a German composer and organist who lived in the 16th century. He was active in the court of the Palatinate and is known for his compositions for organ and choral works.
In the 18th century, Johann Georg Umbach (1718-1786) was a notable German architect and sculptor. He was responsible for the design and construction of several significant buildings, including the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Jüchen, which is considered a masterpiece of Baroque architecture in the region.
The Umbach surname also has a presence in other parts of Europe, including Switzerland and Austria. One notable Swiss bearer of the name was Johann Jakob Umbach (1799-1867), a politician and historian who served as the President of the Swiss Federal Council in 1848.
In the 19th century, Carl Umbach (1839-1906) was a German-American artist and illustrator. He is best known for his illustrations in Harper's Magazine and his depictions of everyday life in America during the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Umbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Umbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Umbach 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 Umbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 433
- Two or more races2.8% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Umbach
Umbach 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
#45,189
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 474
+4 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 1,899 places
2020
#49,062
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 464
-10 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 3,873 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,290 | 470 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #45,189 | 474 | 0.16 | +4 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 1,899 places |
| 2020 | #49,062 | 464 | 0.16 | -10 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 3,873 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 Umbach 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 | #45,189 | #49,062 | -8.6% |
| Count | 474 | 464 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.16 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Umbach bearers went from 474 to 464 (-2.1% change). The surname moved down 3,873 positions in the national ranking, going from #45,189 to #49,062.
FAQ
Umbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Umbach?
Name Census estimates that about 532 living Americans carry the surname Umbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 644,275 residents.
How common is Umbach?
Umbach ranks #49,062 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 464 people with the surname Umbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (532), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Umbach.
Has Umbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Umbach went from 474 recorded bearers to 464. That is a decrease of 10 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #45,189 to #49,062.
What does the Census say about the background of Umbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Umbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Umbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (433 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Umbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Umbach (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 Umbach mean?
A German habitational name derived from any of several places named Umbach. 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 Umbach (0.16 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 Umbach?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.