2000
#31,738
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 688
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.26
Very Rare Last name
Rathmann
A German surname derived from the German word "Rat" meaning "counselor" or "advisor".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 830 Americans carry the last name Rathmann. That puts it at #33,810 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 412,957 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rathmann 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
830
1 in 412,957
Census rank
#33,810
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
724
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 724 bearers of the surname Rathmann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33810th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rathmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rathmann
The surname Rathmann originated in Germany and dates back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old German words "rat" meaning "counsel" and "mann" meaning "man." This suggests the name was likely given to someone who served as a counsellor or advisor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rathmann can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the region of Westphalia, dating back to the 9th century. The name appears in various spellings, including Radmann, Ratman, and Rathman.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Konrad Rathmann was mentioned in records from the city of Cologne. He was a prominent figure in the local government and served as a city councillor.
The name Rathmann is also associated with several place names in Germany, such as Rathmannsdorf and Rathmannshausen, which may have been named after individuals bearing this surname or vice versa.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Johannes Rathmann (1468-1528) was a German humanist and theologian. He was a professor at the University of Wittenberg and played a significant role in the early stages of the Protestant Reformation.
Another individual of note was Georg Rathmann (1618-1676), a German architect and engineer who was involved in the construction of several notable buildings in the city of Dresden, including the Zwinger Palace.
In the 19th century, a German mathematician named Rudolf Rathmann (1846-1920) made significant contributions to the field of number theory and was particularly known for his work on Diophantine equations.
Other notable individuals with the surname Rathmann include the German-American businessman and philanthropist Gustav Rathmann (1884-1961), who founded the Rathmann Company in New York City, and the contemporary German artist and sculptor Bernd Rathmann (born 1953), known for his large-scale public installations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rathmann
Among Census respondents with the surname Rathmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rathmann 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 Rathmann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 672
- Two or more races4.3% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 5
- Black or African American0.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rathmann
Rathmann 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
#31,412
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 737
+49 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 326 places
2020
#33,810
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 724
-13 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 2,398 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,738 | 688 | 0.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31,412 | 737 | 0.25 | +49 bearers (+7.1%) | Up 326 places |
| 2020 | #33,810 | 724 | 0.24 | -13 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,398 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 Rathmann 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 | #31,412 | #33,810 | -7.6% |
| Count | 737 | 724 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.25 | 0.24 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rathmann bearers went from 737 to 724 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,398 positions in the national ranking, going from #31,412 to #33,810.
FAQ
Rathmann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rathmann?
Name Census estimates that about 830 living Americans carry the surname Rathmann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 412,957 residents.
How common is Rathmann?
Rathmann ranks #33,810 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.24 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 724 people with the surname Rathmann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (830), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.24 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 Rathmann.
Has Rathmann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rathmann went from 737 recorded bearers to 724. That is a decrease of 13 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #31,412 to #33,810.
What does the Census say about the background of Rathmann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rathmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Rathmann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (672 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rathmann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Rathmann (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 Rathmann mean?
A German surname derived from the German word "Rat" meaning "counselor" or "advisor". 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 Rathmann (0.24 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 Rathmann?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Rathmann, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.