2000
#9,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,974
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Esch
Derived from a German topographic name for someone living near an ash tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,723 Americans carry the last name Esch. That puts it at #9,574 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,064 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Esch 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
3.7K
1 in 92,064
Census rank
#9,574
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,247 bearers of the surname Esch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9574th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Esch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Esch
The surname Esch originated in Germany and the Low Countries during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "ask" or "esk," meaning ash tree, suggesting that the name's earliest bearers may have lived near a prominent ash tree or grove of ash trees.
One of the earliest known records of the name Esch dates back to the 13th century, when a Heinrich von Esch was mentioned in a document from the city of Cologne in 1287. The name was also found in various medieval manuscripts and charters from regions such as the Rhineland and the Low Countries.
The Esch surname is believed to have first emerged as a toponymic name, referring to individuals who lived in or near a place called Esch. Several villages and towns in Germany and the Netherlands bear this name, including Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg and Esch in the Dutch province of North Brabant.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Esch began to spread more widely across Europe as people migrated and established new settlements. One notable figure from this period was Johann Jakob Esch, a German theologian and philosopher born in 1585 in Nuremberg.
In the 18th century, the name Esch appeared in various historical records, including the birth and death registers of several German principalities. Johann Philipp Esch, a German painter born in 1746 in Frankfurt am Main, was a prominent artist of the Baroque period.
The 19th century saw the emergence of several influential figures bearing the surname Esch. August Esch, born in 1804 in Darmstadt, was a German politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice for the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Another notable individual was Richard Esch, a German businessman and industrialist born in 1837 in Düsseldorf, who played a significant role in the development of the steel industry in the Ruhr region.
As the Esch name spread across Europe and beyond, it also gained recognition in other fields. In the 20th century, one of the most prominent bearers of the surname was the Dutch mathematician and computer scientist Nico Esch, who made significant contributions to the field of topology and was born in 1931 in Amsterdam.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Esch
Among Census respondents with the surname Esch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Esch 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 Esch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 3,059
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 85
- Two or more races2.1% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Esch
Esch 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
#10,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,179
+205 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 147 places
2020
#9,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,247
+68 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 571 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,998 | 2,974 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,145 | 3,179 | 1.08 | +205 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 147 places |
| 2020 | #9,574 | 3,247 | 1.09 | +68 bearers (+2.1%) | Up 571 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 Esch 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 | #10,145 | #9,574 | 5.6% |
| Count | 3,179 | 3,247 | 2.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 1.09 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Esch bearers went from 3,179 to 3,247 (+2.1% change). The surname moved up 571 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,145 to #9,574.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Esch
FAQ
Esch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Esch?
Name Census estimates that about 3,723 living Americans carry the surname Esch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,064 residents.
How common is Esch?
Esch ranks #9,574 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 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 3,247 people with the surname Esch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,723), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 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 Esch.
Has Esch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Esch went from 3,179 recorded bearers to 3,247. That is an increase of 68 (+2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,145 to #9,574.
What does the Census say about the background of Esch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Esch, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Esch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (3,059 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Esch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Esch (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 Esch mean?
Derived from a German topographic name for someone living near an ash tree. 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 Esch (1.09 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 Esch?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Esch on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.