2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Frotten
An English surname derived from a Middle English word meaning "to rub" or "to chafe".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Frotten. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frotten 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Frotten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frotten, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frotten
The surname Frotten has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "frott," which means "cheerful" or "lively." This suggests that the name may have originally been given to someone with a particularly jovial or spirited demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony. In a charter dated 1187, a man named Fridericus Frotten is mentioned as a witness to a land transfer.
By the 13th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany, including Bavaria and Swabia. In the Hirsauer Codex, a manuscript from the Hirsau Abbey in the Black Forest, there are references to several individuals with the surname Frotten, including a monk named Konrad Frotten who lived in the early 1200s.
In the 14th century, the name appears to have taken on various spellings, such as Froten and Frotten, depending on the region. One notable bearer of the name during this time was Hans Frotten, a merchant from Nuremberg who is mentioned in the city's trade records from the late 1300s.
As the centuries progressed, the Frotten name continued to be found throughout Germany, with several notable individuals emerging. In the 16th century, there was Johannes Frotten (1512-1582), a Lutheran theologian and author who wrote extensively on the Protestant Reformation. Another prominent figure was Katharina Frotten (1680-1754), a renowned artist from Augsburg known for her intricate woodcarvings and sculptures.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Wilhelm Frotten (1815-1892), a pioneering German architect who designed several landmark buildings in Berlin and Munich. His contemporary, Otto Frotten (1820-1895), was a respected historian and professor at the University of Heidelberg.
While the Frotten surname may not have the same widespread recognition as some other German names, it has a rich and storied history that spans nearly a millennium. From its humble beginnings as a descriptor for a cheerful individual, it has been borne by scholars, artists, and professionals across various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frotten
Among Census respondents with the surname Frotten, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Frotten 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 Frotten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 105
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frotten
Frotten 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+6 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,382 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 3,382 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,464 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 Frotten 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 | #146,201 | #148,665 | -1.7% |
| Count | 113 | 111 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frotten bearers went from 113 to 111 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #148,665.
FAQ
Frotten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frotten?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Frotten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Frotten?
Frotten ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Frotten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Frotten.
Has Frotten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frotten went from 113 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Frotten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frotten, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Frotten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frotten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Black (1.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Frotten (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 Frotten mean?
An English surname derived from a Middle English word meaning "to rub" or "to chafe". 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 Frotten (0.04 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 Frotten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.