2000
#11,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,632
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Schober
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of tubs, vats, or barrels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,539 Americans carry the last name Schober. That puts it at #13,216 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,996 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schober 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
2.5K
1 in 134,996
Census rank
#13,216
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,214 bearers of the surname Schober in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13216th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schober, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schober
The surname Schober is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "schoub," which referred to a bundle or sheaf of grain or straw. The name likely originated as an occupational surname for someone who worked with bundles or sheaves of grain or straw, such as a harvester or thatcher.
The earliest known recorded instances of the name Schober date back to the 13th century in various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Saxony. In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, including Schouber, Schowber, and Schawber, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Schober can be found in the "Matrikel der Universität Leipzig" (Matriculation Register of the University of Leipzig), which dates back to 1409. The register mentions a student named Johannes Schober from the town of Plauen in Saxony.
Another notable early mention of the name can be found in the "Pfälzische Kirchenbücher" (Church Records of the Palatinate), which document a Lorenz Schober from the town of Kirchheimbolanden in the Palatinate region of present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in 1536.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Schober name was also associated with several notable individuals. One such person was Johannes Schober (c. 1480-1538), a German humanist and scholar who served as a professor at the University of Erfurt in present-day Thuringia, Germany.
In the 17th century, the Schober name gained prominence with the birth of Johann Andreas Schober (1671-1737), a German Baroque composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Principality of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Another notable figure was Carl Schober (1801-1868), an Austrian jurist and politician who served as the Minister of the Interior for the Austrian Empire from 1848 to 1851 during the revolutions of 1848.
In the 19th century, the name was also associated with the German painter and engraver August Ferdinand Schober (1826-1896), who was known for his landscapes and architectural depictions of cities such as Dresden and Prague.
Throughout its history, the surname Schober has been linked to various place names, particularly in Germany and Austria, such as Schoberhof, Schobermühle, and Schoberwies, which may have contributed to the development of the name or served as places of origin for certain families bearing the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schober
Among Census respondents with the surname Schober, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Schober 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 Schober surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,024
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 94
- Two or more races2.8% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schober
Schober 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
#11,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,760
+128 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 335 places
2020
#13,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,214
-546 bearers (-19.8%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,801 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,080 | 2,632 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,415 | 2,760 | 0.94 | +128 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 335 places |
| 2020 | #13,216 | 2,214 | 0.74 | -546 bearers (-19.8%) | Down 1,801 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 Schober 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 | #11,415 | #13,216 | -15.8% |
| Count | 2,760 | 2,214 | -19.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.74 | -21.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schober bearers went from 2,760 to 2,214 (-19.8% change). The surname moved down 1,801 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,415 to #13,216.
FAQ
Schober surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schober?
Name Census estimates that about 2,539 living Americans carry the surname Schober. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,996 residents.
How common is Schober?
Schober ranks #13,216 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,214 people with the surname Schober. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,539), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Schober.
Has Schober become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schober went from 2,760 recorded bearers to 2,214. That is a decrease of 546 (-19.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,415 to #13,216.
What does the Census say about the background of Schober?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schober, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Schober in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,024 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schober appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Schober (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 Schober mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of tubs, vats, or barrels. 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 Schober (0.74 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 surname Schober?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.