The German surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,661 people carried this name — #2,182 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 17,700 people counted. That is up 13% from 14,769 in 2000.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 880 people named German 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 Poland’s population register
248 people named German have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 379 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Podlaskie.
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 210 people named German.
53 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 29 départements, most often Var.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
37 people named German live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 the Nordic population registers
55 people named German is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
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).
In print
German in American newspapers,
1914–1918.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,320,494 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named German,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Ludomił German 1851–1920 · writer -
William Manley German 1851–1933 · lawyer -
George German d. 1946
-
Robert German 1301–1402 · politician
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Eric German 1684–1758 · joiner
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Placidus German 1749–1803 · monk
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to German.
- Gerlach 7,394 · U.S. census
- Gerland 191 · U.S. census
- Gerling 2,294 · U.S. census
- Gerlinger 185 · U.S. census
- Germain 7,332 · U.S. census
- Germaine 1,324 · U.S. census
- Germani 464 · U.S. census
- Germann 2,612 · U.S. census
- Germano 2,499 · U.S. census
- Germany 3,825 · U.S. census
- Germon 137 · U.S. census
- Germond 566 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where German 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.