Rader last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Rader is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rader.

Meaning of Rader

An occupational surname for a wheelwright, derived from the German word "Rad" meaning "wheel."

Rader, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rader surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rader in America

Rader is the 2233rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rader surname appeared 16,320 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Rader.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rader to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 2233 2047 8.69%
Count 16,320 16,212 0.66%
Proportion per 100k 5.53 6.01 -8.32%

The history of the last name Rader

The surname Rader has its origins in Germany, and it first appeared around the 13th century. The name is derived from the German word "Rad," which means "wheel," and it likely referred to someone who was a wheelwright or worked with wheels in some capacity.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rader can be found in the Bavarian town of Regensburg, where a merchant named Hans Rader was documented in the mid-14th century. The name also appeared in various German records and manuscripts from the same period, such as the Nuremberg Chronicles, which mentioned a family of Raders who were prominent citizens in the city.

In the 16th century, the Rader name spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. One notable figure was Jan Rader, a Dutch mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1563 to 1617. He made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and published several books on the subject.

Another prominent individual with the Rader surname was Johann Georg Rader, a German Jesuit priest and writer who lived from 1588 to 1662. He authored several religious works and was known for his expertise in Latin and Greek literature.

In the 18th century, a branch of the Rader family settled in the United States, where the name continued to spread. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name in America was Johann Rader, a German immigrant who arrived in Pennsylvania in the 1740s.

Throughout history, the Rader name has been associated with various occupations and professions, including wheelwrights, merchants, scholars, and religious figures. Some notable individuals with the Rader surname include:

  1. Benjamin Rader (1757-1826), an American Revolutionary War soldier and pioneer who settled in Ohio.
  2. Matthew Rader (1832-1909), a German-American businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Baltimore from 1895 to 1899.
  3. William Rader (1865-1936), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London and other parts of England.
  4. Melvin Rader (1929-2016), an American philosopher and author who wrote extensively on the works of John Dewey and pragmatism.
  5. Kelly Rader (born 1978), an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments on the LPGA Tour.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rader

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rader.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rader was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.37% 15,238
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.09% 178
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.85% 139
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.72% 118
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.74% 284
Hispanic Origin 2.23% 364

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rader has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.37% 94.42% -1.12%
Black 1.09% 1.10% -0.91%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.85% 0.81% 4.82%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.72% 0.67% 7.19%
Two or More Races 1.74% 1.25% 32.78%
Hispanic 2.23% 1.75% 24.12%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rader was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rader, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Rader last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 3, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/rader-surname-popularity/.

"Rader last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/rader-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 December, 2024

Rader last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/rader-surname-popularity/.

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