Explore the Family Name Messerschmidt

The meaning of Messerschmidt

German: occupational name for a cutler, from Middle High German mezzer ‘knife’ + smit ‘smith’. See also Messer 1. Some characteristic forenames: German Ewald, Franz, Frieda, Hans, Kurt, Rudi.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Messerschmidt in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname 'Messerschmidt' experienced a slight increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the name improved from 22,222 to 21,862, reflecting a change of 1.62 percent over the decade. Additionally, the count of individuals bearing the surname increased by nearly 10 percent, with 1083 people in 2000 and 1189 in 2010. However, the proportion of Messerschmidts per 100,000 people remained stable at 0.4.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#22,222	#21,862	1.62%
Count	1,083	1,189	9.79%
Proportion per 100k	0.4	0.4	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Messerschmidt

Looking at the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Messerschmidt', it's clear that there have been some shifts between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The majority of individuals with this surname identified as White, though the percentage dropped slightly from 97.14% to 96.05%. There was a notable increase in those identifying as Hispanic, which rose from 0.83% to 2.02%. The proportion of Messerschmidts of Asian/Pacific Islander descent decreased by more than half, from 0.92% to 0.42%, while those reporting two or more races increased from 0.65% to 1.09%. No Messerschmidts identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.14%	96.05%	-1.12%
Hispanic	0.83%	2.02%	143.37%
Two or More Races	0.65%	1.09%	67.69%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.92%	0.42%	-54.35%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%