2000
#7,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.47
Rare Last name
Ramer
Derived from a German occupational name for a merchant or trader, from Middle High German "krämer" meaning "merchant".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,688 Americans carry the last name Ramer. That puts it at #7,790 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,113 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ramer 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
4.7K
1 in 73,113
Census rank
#7,790
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,088 bearers of the surname Ramer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7790th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ramer
The surname RAMER is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Bavaria during the late Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the German word "rahm," which means "cream" or "film." This could suggest that the name originally referred to someone who worked with dairy products or possibly a person who lived near a creamy or filmy body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the RAMER surname appears in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, in the year 1447, where a man named Hans Ramer is listed as a resident. The name is also found in various other German records from that time period, sometimes spelled slightly differently, such as "Rahmer" or "Rammer."
In the 16th century, the RAMER surname appears to have spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions like Austria and Switzerland. For example, a man named Johann Ramer was born in the town of Bern, Switzerland, in 1567.
One notable historical figure with the RAMER surname was Johann Georg Ramer, a German composer and organist who lived from 1683 to 1745. He served as the court organist in the city of Magdeburg and is known for his contributions to the development of organ music in Germany during the Baroque period.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Ramer, a German painter and engraver who was active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in Nuremberg in 1773 and is best known for his landscape paintings and engravings depicting scenes from various regions of Germany.
In the 19th century, the RAMER surname began to appear in records from other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and immigration. For instance, a man named Joseph Ramer was born in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) in 1832.
While the RAMER surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to many other parts of the world, including North America and other English-speaking countries. However, its earliest origins and historical references can be traced back to the German-speaking regions of central Europe during the late medieval and early modern periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramer
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ramer 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 Ramer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 3,742
- Two or more races3.4% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 113
- Black or African American1.0% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ramer
Ramer 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
#7,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,283
+327 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Down 8 places
2020
#7,790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,088
-195 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 38 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,744 | 3,956 | 1.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,752 | 4,283 | 1.45 | +327 bearers (+8.3%) | Down 8 places |
| 2020 | #7,790 | 4,088 | 1.37 | -195 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 38 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 Ramer 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 | #7,752 | #7,790 | -0.5% |
| Count | 4,283 | 4,088 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.45 | 1.37 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ramer bearers went from 4,283 to 4,088 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 38 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,752 to #7,790.
FAQ
Ramer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ramer?
Name Census estimates that about 4,688 living Americans carry the surname Ramer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,113 residents.
How common is Ramer?
Ramer ranks #7,790 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.37 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 4,088 people with the surname Ramer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,688), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.37 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 Ramer.
Has Ramer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ramer went from 4,283 recorded bearers to 4,088. That is a decrease of 195 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,752 to #7,790.
What does the Census say about the background of Ramer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Ramer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (3,742 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ramer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Ramer (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 Ramer mean?
Derived from a German occupational name for a merchant or trader, from Middle High German "krämer" meaning "merchant". 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 Ramer (1.37 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 are called Ramer?
Want to know how many people have the surname Ramer? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.