Erb
A short German surname usually linked to a word meaning “inheritance” or, in some cases, a name built from an old Germanic personal name.
The #3,923 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,078 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In German, Erb is most often connected with the word Erbe, meaning “heir” or “inheritance,” from older Germanic roots. It may therefore have begun as a nickname or byname for someone associated with an inheritance, property, or hereditary status. Some historical writers also treated it as a shortened form of old Germanic personal names containing the element erb/arp, so the surname can have more than one possible path.
History
The name appears in German-speaking areas and was carried to English-speaking countries through immigration, especially in the 19th century. Older surname scholars also noted related short German forms such as Erpf, Erpel, and variants like Earp in Anglicized records. Because the surname is very short, later spellings were sometimes simplified or changed in census and church records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In some 19th-century surname studies, Erb was grouped with other very short German surnames because it is only one syllable and easy to overlook in records.
From the historical record
“Dax Erb Kas ]\Iax”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom