The Bach surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,999 people carried this name — #2,986 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 24,600 people counted. That is up 5% from 11,375 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Bach surname
The surname was brought to the Anglo-Saxon world by immigrants from other Germanic countries.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Bach» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 2,884 people named Bach.
158 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 86 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
2,200 people named Bach have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 2,607 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Pomeranian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
797 people named Bach live in Switzerland.
They live in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 699 people named Bach live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 122 people named Bach live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
768 people named Bach are counted in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Bach in American newspapers,
1891–1952.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 646,393 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Bach,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Johann Christoph Bach I 1642–1703 · composer -
Johann Christoph Bach II 1645–1693 · composer -
Maria Barbara Bach 1684–1720 · singer -
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685–1750 · composer -
Anna Magdalena Bach 1701–1760 · composer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 146 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Bach.
- Baca 28,082 · U.S. census
- Bacca 443 · U.S. census
- Baccam 802 · U.S. census
- Bacchetta 141 · U.S. census
- Bacchi 512 · U.S. census
- Bacci 537 · U.S. census
- Bacha 779 · U.S. census
- Bache 935 · U.S. census
- Bachelier 172 · U.S. census
- Bacher 1,994 · U.S. census
- Bachini 154 · U.S. census
- Bachler 490 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Bach is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.