Ritter
A masculine German name meaning "knight" or "horseman".
Name Census estimates that about 121 living Americans carry the first name Ritter. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ritter today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ritter births was 2016 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ritter. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
121
~ 1 in 2,832,680 Americans
Peak year
2016
17 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,658
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Ritter: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ritter from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 87 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ritter by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ritter during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ritter
The name Ritter originates from the German language and has its roots in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Ritter," which means "knight" or "horseman." This name was initially associated with members of the knightly class or those who had achieved a high rank in the military or nobility.
During the Middle Ages, the term "Ritter" held significant importance and prestige. In medieval societies, knights were revered for their bravery, chivalry, and military prowess. They were often landowners and held positions of power and influence within their respective realms. The name Ritter was likely bestowed upon individuals who had earned their knighthood through acts of valor or service to their lords.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ritter can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a famous German epic poem dating back to the 13th century. The poem mentions several characters with the name Ritter, indicating its widespread use during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ritter. One such person was Ritter von Harnoncourt (1492-1568), an Austrian knight and military commander who fought in the Habsburg wars against the Ottoman Empire. Another prominent figure was Ritter Gottfried von Strassburg (c. 1210 – c. 1280), a renowned German poet and author of the courtly romance Tristan.
In the realm of art and culture, Ritter Raimund (1753-1836) was an influential Austrian actor and playwright who helped shape the development of the Viennese popular theater. Ritter Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), one of the most celebrated German writers and intellectuals, also had the name Ritter as part of his official title.
Moving into the 20th century, Ritter Gerhard Hauptmann (1862-1946) was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912 for his works that portrayed the social and spiritual struggles of the common people.
It is worth noting that while the name Ritter has its roots in the German language, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over time, though its meaning and significance may have evolved or taken on slightly different connotations.
People
Ritter + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ritter as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ritter: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ritter?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 121 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ritter going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,832,680 US residents.
Is Ritter a common name?
We classify Ritter as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 122 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ritter most popular?
The single biggest year for Ritter was 2016, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ritter is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ritter a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ritter in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.