2000
#5,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.27
Rare Last name
Rath
A German and Jewish surname derived from the Middle High German word "rat," meaning counsel or advice.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,485 Americans carry the last name Rath. That puts it at #5,174 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,792 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rath 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rath with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.5K
1 in 45,792
Census rank
#5,174
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,527 bearers of the surname Rath in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5174th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rath, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rath
The surname Rath has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the early Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old German word "rat," meaning counsel or advice. It is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive name for someone who was known for offering wise counsel or guidance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Rath can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 11th century. The name appears in various forms, such as Rat, Rath, and Rathe, reflecting the spelling variations common during that time.
In the late 12th century, a nobleman named Burkhard Rath was mentioned in a charter from the Archbishopric of Cologne, suggesting that the name had already gained recognition among the German nobility. Another notable early bearer of the name was Heinrich Rath, a merchant from Lübeck who was recorded in the city's trade records in the 14th century.
The Rath surname also has connections to several place names in Germany, such as Rath bei Ratingen and Rath bei Düsseldorf, both located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. These places likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname Rath who lived or held property there.
Throughout history, several prominent individuals have borne the Rath surname, including:
1. Georg Rath (1522-1568), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
2. Johann Rath (1652-1716), a German baroque composer and organist known for his contributions to sacred music.
3. Gerhard vom Rath (1830-1888), a German politician and statesman who served as the Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs for the German Empire.
4. Ernst vom Rath (1909-1938), a German diplomat whose assassination in Paris in 1938 was used by the Nazi regime as a pretext for the Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews.
5. Günter Rath (born 1939), a German football player and manager who played for and managed several Bundesliga clubs in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Rath surname has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Germany and has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration. While its origins can be traced back to the early Middle Ages, the name continues to hold significance as a part of German cultural heritage and history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rath
Among Census respondents with the surname Rath, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rath 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 Rath surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 5,245
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.2% · 860
- Two or more races3.4% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 143
- Black or African American0.5% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rath
Rath 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
#5,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,747
+612 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Up 49 places
2020
#5,174
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,527
-220 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 2.18
Rank movement Up 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,227 | 6,135 | 2.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,178 | 6,747 | 2.29 | +612 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 49 places |
| 2020 | #5,174 | 6,527 | 2.18 | -220 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 4 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 Rath 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 | #5,178 | #5,174 | 0.1% |
| Count | 6,747 | 6,527 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.29 | 2.18 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rath bearers went from 6,747 to 6,527 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,178 to #5,174.
FAQ
Rath surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rath?
Name Census estimates that about 7,485 living Americans carry the surname Rath. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,792 residents.
How common is Rath?
Rath ranks #5,174 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,527 people with the surname Rath. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,485), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rath.
Has Rath become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rath went from 6,747 recorded bearers to 6,527. That is a decrease of 220 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,178 to #5,174.
What does the Census say about the background of Rath?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rath, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Rath in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (5,245 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rath appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Rath (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 Rath mean?
A German and Jewish surname derived from the Middle High German word "rat," meaning counsel or advice. 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 Rath (2.18 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 last name Rath?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Rath on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.