2000
#1,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,864
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.25
Uncommon Last name
Hirsch
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning "deer" or "stag," often referring to someone of a timid nature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,790 Americans carry the last name Hirsch. That puts it at #2,159 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,241 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hirsch 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hirsch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,241
Census rank
#2,159
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,386 bearers of the surname Hirsch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2159th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hirsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hirsch
The surname Hirsch originates from the German language and refers to a male deer or stag. It likely started as a descriptive nickname or an occupational name for someone who hunted or worked with deer. The name can be traced back to the Middle High German period, around 1050-1350 CE, and was commonly found in areas of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hirsch appears in the Codex Traditionum of the Benedictine abbey of Ebersberg in Bavaria, dated around 1150. This document mentions a "Sigehardus Hirz" as a witness to a land transaction. The spelling "Hirz" was a common variant in the Middle Ages.
In the 13th century, the name Hirsch is found in various records from the Rhine region, such as the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Strassburg (Book of Records of the City of Strasbourg). This suggests the name was well-established in this area during that time.
One notable bearer of the name was Johannes Hirsch, a German theologian and reformer who lived from around 1460 to 1527. He was a prominent figure in the early years of the Protestant Reformation and a close associate of Martin Luther.
Another individual with the surname Hirsch was Samson Raphael Hirsch, a renowned German rabbi and scholar who lived from 1808 to 1888. He was a leading figure in the development of modern Orthodox Judaism and the founder of the Hirsch Yeshiva in Frankfurt.
In the realm of literature, the name Hirsch is associated with Maurice Hirsch, a French writer and journalist born in 1833. He was a prolific author and contributor to various publications, including the Revue des Deux Mondes.
The surname Hirsch also has connections to place names, such as Hirschhorn, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which translates to "Deer's Horn." This suggests that some individuals may have adopted the surname based on their place of origin or residence.
Throughout history, the surname Hirsch has been found across various regions of Europe, particularly in German-speaking areas, and has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including scholars, religious leaders, and writers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hirsch
Among Census respondents with the surname Hirsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hirsch 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 Hirsch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 15,151
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 549
- Two or more races2.2% · 364
- Black or African American1.0% · 169
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hirsch
Hirsch 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
#2,120
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,072
+208 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 5.79
Rank movement Down 161 places
2020
#2,159
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,386
-686 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 5.48
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,959 | 16,864 | 6.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,120 | 17,072 | 5.79 | +208 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 161 places |
| 2020 | #2,159 | 16,386 | 5.48 | -686 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 39 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 Hirsch 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 | #2,120 | #2,159 | -1.8% |
| Count | 17,072 | 16,386 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.79 | 5.48 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hirsch bearers went from 17,072 to 16,386 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,120 to #2,159.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hirsch
FAQ
Hirsch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hirsch?
Name Census estimates that about 18,790 living Americans carry the surname Hirsch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,241 residents.
How common is Hirsch?
Hirsch ranks #2,159 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.48 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,386 people with the surname Hirsch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,790), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.48 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Hirsch.
Has Hirsch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hirsch went from 17,072 recorded bearers to 16,386. That is a decrease of 686 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,120 to #2,159.
What does the Census say about the background of Hirsch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hirsch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Hirsch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (15,151 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hirsch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Hirsch (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 Hirsch mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning "deer" or "stag," often referring to someone of a timid nature. 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 Hirsch (5.48 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 are called Hirsch?
Want to know how common the surname Hirsch is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.