Explore the Family Name Schlichter

The meaning of Schlichter

German: 1. occupational name from Middle High German slihten ‘to smooth out, sharpen’, hence for a cloth worker or a cutler. 2. occupational name for an arbitrator. Both senses are from Middle High German, Middle Low German slecht, slicht ‘straight, smooth, plane, even’. Some characteristic forenames: German Wolfgang, Claus, Klaus, Kurt.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Schlichter saw a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 32,567th most common surname, but by 2010, it had slipped to 34,073rd place — a decrease of about 4.62%. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals with the surname Schlichter increased marginally from 665 to 667 during the same period. The proportion per 100,000 people also observed a decline of 8%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#32,567	#34,073	-4.62%
Count	665	667	0.3%
Proportion per 100k	0.25	0.23	-8%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Schlichter

The ethnicity distribution for the Schlichter surname, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, remained predominantly White between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, 98.05% of Schlichters identified as White, decreasing slightly to 97.3% in 2010. There was a small presence of Hispanic identity, which fell from 1.05% in 2000 to 0.9% in 2010. Interestingly, the census data for 2010 showed a new addition to the ethnic composition with 0.75% identifying under two or more races. However, there were no reported instances of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native identities among those with the Schlichter surname.

	2000	2010	Change
White	98.05%	97.3%	-0.76%
Hispanic	1.05%	0.9%	-14.29%
Two or More Races	0%	0.75%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%