How common is the surname Fischer?

72,357 people in the United States had the surname Fischer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,267 Americans. It ranked 455th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Fischer?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Fischer identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Fischer?

Bobby Fischer, American chess player (1943–2008), followed by Heinz Fischer.

Where is the surname Fischer most common?

Wikidata records people named Fischer in the United States, Austria and Australia and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Fischer getting more or less common?

More common. 70,095 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 72,357 in 2010, up 3.2%.

The surname Fischer

A German occupational surname, carried by 72,357 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex F260

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Fischer is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

German origin

Borrowed from German Fischer (“fisherman”). Doublet of Fisher and Fisker

Fischer is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 72,357 people named Fischer in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 4,267 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 70,095.

#455

rank among US surnames

72,357

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.2%

change since 2000 (was #419)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#446	Walton	73,854	4,180
#447	Blake	73,797	4,184
#448	Trujillo	73,664	4,191
#449	Adkins	73,599	4,195
#450	Brady	73,145	4,221
#451	Goodman	73,136	4,222
#452	Roman	72,918	4,234

Who is named Fischer

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named Fischer identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 1.2%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Fischers

41 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Bobby Fischer
American chess player (1943–2008)
Heinz Fischer
Austrian politician (SPÖ), 8th president of Austria (born 1938)
Edmond H. Fischer
American biochemist (1920–2021)
Jenna Fischer
American actress, born 1974
Deb Fischer
American politician (born 1951)
Debra Fischer
American astronomer and academic, born 1951
Lisa Fischer
American vocalist and songwriter (born 1958)
Jack D. Fischer
American astronaut, born 1974
O. W. Fischer
Austrian actor (1915-2004)
Louis Fischer
American journalist (1896-1970)
D'or Fischer
American-Israeli basketball player, born 1981
Ernst Fischer
Austrian literature historian, publicist and writer (1899-1972)

Notable Fischers come mostly from the United States (17), Austria (10) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Fischer

Fischer has the Soundex code F260, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F260.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Fischer come from?: Borrowed from German Fischer (“fisherman”). Doublet of Fisher and Fisker
How common is the surname Fischer?: 72,357 people in the United States had the surname Fischer in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,267 Americans. It ranked 455th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Fischer?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Fischer identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Fischer?: Bobby Fischer, American chess player (1943–2008), followed by Heinz Fischer.
Where is the surname Fischer most common?: Wikidata records people named Fischer in the United States, Austria and Australia and 3 other countries.
What type of surname is Fischer?: Fischer is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Fischer getting more or less common?: More common. 70,095 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 72,357 in 2010, up 3.2%.