The Richter surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 29,233 people carried this name — #1,096 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,230 people counted.
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In Poland’s population register
2,157 people named Richter have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 2,951 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 Silesian.
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
1,501 people named Richter live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 667 people named Richter.
195 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 48 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 131 people named Richter 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 print
Richter in American newspapers,
1881–1960.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 328,332 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Richter,
with a public archive behind them.
-
David Richter the Elder 1661–1735 · painter -
Jeremias Benjamin Richter 1762–1807 · scientist -
Jean Paul 1763–1825 · writer -
Ernst Richter 1808–1879 · composer -
Hieronymous Theodor Richter 1824–1898 · chemist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 97 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Richter.
- Richel 339 · U.S. census
- Richen 106 · U.S. census
- Richer 2,434 · U.S. census
- Richert 2,811 · U.S. census
- Richmond 35,715 · U.S. census
- Richoux 534 · U.S. census
- Richy 145 · U.S. census
- Rick 5,172 · U.S. census
- Rico 18,735 · U.S. census
- Ricord 248 · U.S. census
- Ricotta 876 · U.S. census
- Rideau 809 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Richter is.
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