Do most Americans have German surnames?

[Mortimer]

Because of the Rittenhouse case, I saw some names like Grosskreutz, Rittenhouse, Huber, etc. and all of them are German or possibly Ashkenazi (Ashkenazis have somewhat strange sounding German names). So do most Americans have German surnames? Is a german surname a typical american surname?

 

[Hossfly]

Because of the Rittenhouse case, I saw some names like Grosskreutz, Rittenhouse, Huber, etc. and all of them are German or possibly Ashkenazi (Ashkenazis have somewhat strange sounding German names). So do most Americans have German surnames? Is a german surname a typical american surname?

Most Common US Surnames By Rank​

Rank	Surname	Surname Origin	Estimated Population
1	Smith	English	2,442,977
2	Johnson	English, Scottish	1,932,812
3	Williams	English, Welsh	1,625,252
4	Brown	English, Scottish, Irish	1,437,026
5	Jones	English, Welsh	1,425,470
6	Garcia	Spanish	1,166,120
7	Miller	English, Scottish, German, French, Italian	1,161,437
8	Davis	English, Welsh	1,116,357
9	Rodriguez	Spanish	1,094,924
10	Martinez	Spanish	1,060,159

Top 100 Most Common Last Names in the United States

Review the 100 most common U.S. surnames and their origins. Did yours make the cut?

www.thoughtco.com

 

[braalian]

It’s a common misconception that most white Americans are of German origin.

In polls, German is the single largest self identified origin among white Americans.

*But* a large portion of white Americans with English surnames (Johnson, Smith, etc) self identify origin as “American”, not “English”. Most Americans with German surnames identify as German.

Also, British surnames are split into English, Scottish, Welsh. Whereas all Austrian, Prussian, Bravarian, whatever surnames simply fall under “German”.

Thus, the results of polls are skewed to over represent Germans and under represent English. The single largest ethnicity of origin in the USA is, indeed, English.

All that said, my ancestry is almost pure German (Austrian) and I’m proud of it. Everyone should be proud of their heritage.

 

[Bootney Lee Farnsworth]

Lots of German folk in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. There are way more English/Irish/Welsh, and Spanish across the U.S.

 

[Bootney Lee Farnsworth]

Because of the Rittenhouse case, I saw some names like Grosskreutz, Rittenhouse, Huber, etc. and all of them are German or possibly Ashkenazi (Ashkenazis have somewhat strange sounding German names). So do most Americans have German surnames? Is a german surname a typical american surname?

A lot of people involved were German.

Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse, Grosskruetz, Huber, Little Binger, Judge Schroder.

 

[braalian]

A lot of people involved were German.

Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse, Grosskruetz, Huber, Little Binger, Judge Schroder.

Probably just because Wisconsin is a very German state

 

[Quasar44]

Mortimer
The nation was founded by English
Most American last names are British then German then Irish

 

[Quasar44]

Way more Germans in the middle states
More Irish in the South
More Italians in the East

 

[Devils_Advocate]

Because of the Rittenhouse case, I saw some names like Grosskreutz, Rittenhouse, Huber, etc. and all of them are German or possibly Ashkenazi (Ashkenazis have somewhat strange sounding German names). So do most Americans have German surnames? Is a german surname a typical american surname?

No, and you could just google the damn answer!

Most Americans have English surnames and not German!

 

[Unkotare]

Mortimer
The nation was founded by English
Most American last names are British then German then Irish

German is the most prevalent ethnic heritage in the US.

 

[braalian]

German is the most prevalent ethnic heritage in the US.

No, English is.

 

[Unkotare]

No, English is.

People of German Ancestry Dominate US Melting Pot – All About America

America is a melting pot of immigrants from across the globe and people of German ancestry make up the biggest

blogs.voanews.com

 

[braalian]

People of German Ancestry Dominate US Melting Pot – All About America

America is a melting pot of immigrants from across the globe and people of German ancestry make up the biggest

blogs.voanews.com

Yeah, but read my initial post.

TLDR: Many, if not most, Americans of English heritage list their heritage as “American” instead of “English”.

There aren’t really any white Americans who can say their ethnic heritage is “American”. If you’re white, you obviously came from Europe.

Look at that map in the article you linked. See how most of the South responded to the survey saying their heritage is “American”? Of course it isn’t. The only people with “American” heritage are the Native Americans. Most of the white people in the South are of English descent. Or British.

Add them to the other “English” respondents, and they outnumber the Germans.

 

[Unkotare]

Yeah, but read my initial post.

TLDR: Many, if not most, Americans of English heritage list their heritage as “American” instead of “English”.

There aren’t really any white Americans who can say their ethnic heritage is “American”. If you’re white, you obviously came from Europe.

Look at that map in the article you linked. See how most of the South responded to the survey saying their heritage is “American”? Of course it isn’t. The only people with “American” heritage are the Native Americans. Most of the white people in the South are of English heritage.

You're speculating.

 

[Unkotare]

The silent minority

America’s largest ethnic group has assimilated so well that people barely notice it

www.economist.com

Opinion | Whatever Happened to German America? (Published 2015)

The country’s largest national ethnic group completely disappeared from its culture.

www.nytimes.com

Germans predominant ethnic group in U.S.

www.newsday.com

https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2012/07/german-americans-are-nations-dominant.html

 

[braalian]

You're speculating.

Well, we can agree they’re not really of “American” descent. Unless there’s *way* more injuns in the South then we thought.

And since most Southerners (white Southerners, anyway) have English surnames….. it’s not much of a leap.

 

[Unkotare]

Well, we can agree they’re not really of “American” descent. Unless there’s *way* more injuns in the South then we thought.

And since most Southerners (white Southerners, anyway) have English surnames….. it’s not much of a leap.

You're speculating.

 

[braalian]

You're speculating.

So do we just go ahead and let all those white people in the South be counted as “American”? Again, look at that map.

Relatively few German Americans settled in the old south.

 

[Unkotare]

So do we just go ahead and let all those white people in the South be counted as “American”? Again, look at that map.

Relatively few German Americans settled in the old south.

You're wrong, and you're still speculating.

 

[braalian]

You're wrong, and you're still speculating.

But really, what about all the white people who claim American heritage?

They’re clearly not American (in terms of heritage), so which ethnic group should we ascribe them to?