Show ContentsEhrhart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestral home of the Ehrhart family is in the German province of Bavaria. Ehrhart is a German nickname surname. Such names came from eke-names, or added names, that described their initial bearer through reference to a physical characteristic or other attribute. It is a name for a courageous or honorable person. The surname Ehrhart is composed of two German words meaning honor and bravery.

Early Origins of the Ehrhart family

The surname Ehrhart was first found in Bavaria, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. Saint Erhard of Regensburg was bishop of Regensburg in the 7th century. He was also known as Abbot Erhard of EbersheimMunster. He was canonized on the 8th of October 1052, by Pope Leo IX.

Early History of the Ehrhart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ehrhart research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1391, 1573, 1752, 1776, 1777, 1786, 1794, 1796, 1808, 1809, 1810, 1824 and 1854 are included under the topic Early Ehrhart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ehrhart Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Ehrhart include Ehrhardt, Ehrhart, Erhart, Erhard, Erhardt, Errheart, Errhart, Errhard, Errhardt, Earhart, Airhart and many more.

Early Notables of the Ehrhart family

Prominent among members of the name Ehrhart in this period include

  • Friedrich Ehrhardt, commander of the 8th Prussian infantry brigade, who was ennobled in 1854; D. Johann Ehrhart, director of the medical school at the University of Innsbruck, was ennobled in the firs...

Ehrhart Ranking

In the United States, the name Ehrhart is the 12,434th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Ehrhart migration to the United States +

German settlers were among the most common to come to North America between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries. Poverty and religious persecution drove many Bavarians to make this long trek. tenant farmers were also enticed by the prospect of owning land. From east to west, these German immigrants populated the United States, settling in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada also provided homes to many. Early settlers bearing the Ehrhart surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Ehrhart Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Johan Ehrhart, who settled in Philadelphia in 1749
  • Johan Ludwig Ehrhart, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1750 [2]
  • Heinrich Ehrhart, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1766 [2]

Contemporary Notables of the name Ehrhart (post 1700) +

  • William Daniel Ehrhart (b. 1948), American poet, writer, scholar and Vietnam veteran
  • Earl Day Ehrhart, American politician from the state of Georgia
  • Carl Yarkers Ehrhart (b. 1918), American college administrator
  • Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart (1742-1795), German botanist


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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