2000
#13,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,076
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Bottorff
Derived from the German place name Bottorf, referring to someone who originated from that location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,252 Americans carry the last name Bottorff. That puts it at #14,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,200 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bottorff surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 152,200
Census rank
#14,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,964 bearers of the surname Bottorff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bottorff, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bottorff
The surname Bottorff is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the town of Bottrop, located in the Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name likely evolved from the place name Bottrop, which is derived from the Old German words "bud" meaning "dwelling" and "throp" meaning "village."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bottorff name can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Bottrop, where a person named Johannes Bottorff was mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time and had been adopted by individuals living in or near the town.
In the 16th century, the Bottorff name appeared in various documents across Germany, indicating that the family had spread to other regions. One notable example is Hans Bottorff, a merchant from Cologne who was active in the mid-1500s.
As the Bottorff family continued to expand and migrate, their surname took on different spellings and variations, such as Bottroff, Bottroph, and Bodtorf. These variations reflect the regional dialects and linguistic influences of the areas where the Bottorff family settled.
One of the earliest recorded Bottorffs in North America was Johann Christoph Bottorff, who immigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany in the late 18th century. He and his descendants played a role in the early settlement and development of the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Bottorff surname. One such person was Friedrich Wilhelm Bottorff (1807-1876), a German politician and member of the Prussian parliament. Another was Karl Bottorff (1865-1941), a German architect known for his work on public buildings and churches in Berlin.
In the United States, one of the more prominent Bottorffs was Robert Eli Bottorff (1839-1921), a soldier who fought in the American Civil War and later became a successful businessman and politician in Indiana.
Other notable Bottorffs include Edith Bottorff (1899-1989), an American artist and educator known for her landscape paintings, and William Bottorff (1902-1963), a Canadian baseball player who played for several teams in the minor leagues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bottorff
Among Census respondents with the surname Bottorff, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bottorff bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bottorff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,821
- Two or more races3.4% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bottorff
Bottorff appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,190
+114 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 355 places
2020
#14,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,964
-226 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 770 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,451 | 2,076 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,806 | 2,190 | 0.74 | +114 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 355 places |
| 2020 | #14,576 | 1,964 | 0.66 | -226 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 770 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bottorff surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,806 | #14,576 | -5.6% |
| Count | 2,190 | 1,964 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.66 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bottorff bearers went from 2,190 to 1,964 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 770 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,806 to #14,576.
FAQ
Bottorff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bottorff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,252 living Americans carry the surname Bottorff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,200 residents.
How common is Bottorff?
Bottorff ranks #14,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,964 people with the surname Bottorff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,252), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Bottorff.
Has Bottorff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bottorff went from 2,190 recorded bearers to 1,964. That is a decrease of 226 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,806 to #14,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Bottorff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bottorff, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bottorff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,821 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bottorff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bottorff (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bottorff mean?
Derived from the German place name Bottorf, referring to someone who originated from that location. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bottorff (0.66 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Bottorff?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.