2000
#11,859
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,418
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Ratzlaff
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German words "ratze," meaning honeycomb, and "lave," meaning remainder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,757 Americans carry the last name Ratzlaff. That puts it at #12,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,321 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ratzlaff 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
2.8K
1 in 124,321
Census rank
#12,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,404 bearers of the surname Ratzlaff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ratzlaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ratzlaff
The surname Ratzlaff originated in the early 13th century in the region of Pomerania, an area that is now part of northern Germany and western Poland. It likely derives from the Old Prussian words "ratz" meaning rat and "laf" meaning field, suggesting the name may have been given to someone who lived or worked in a rat-infested field.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Pomeranian Duchy Records of 1275, which lists a Jacob Ratzlaff as a landowner in the village of Kolberg. The spelling at the time was "Ratzelaf". Over the centuries, variations such as Ratzloff, Ratzlav, and Ratzleff emerged in different areas.
In the late 15th century, the Ratzlaff name appeared in various church records and tax rolls in the town of Stettin, now part of modern-day Poland. A notable figure from this time was Hans Ratzlaff, a merchant and alderman who lived between 1470 and 1535.
As the Ratzlaff family spread throughout the region, some branches adopted variants like Ratzlawski or Ratzlawitzki, reflecting the influence of Polish and Slavic naming conventions. In the 17th century, a line of Ratzlaffs settled in the Prussian village of Marienburg, where records show a Johannes Ratzlaff born in 1632.
During the 18th century, members of the Ratzlaff family emigrated to other parts of Europe and Russia. One notable figure was Carl Friedrich Ratzlaff (1779-1842), a German-Russian colonist and farmer who helped establish the village of Ratzlawka near Odessa.
As the 19th century progressed, many Ratzlaffs left Europe for North America, settling in areas with existing German and Russian-German communities. Johann Ratzlaff (1820-1892), a blacksmith from Prussia, was one of the first to arrive in Canada in the 1870s, establishing a homestead in Manitoba.
Other notable individuals with the Ratzlaff surname include German-American artist Heinz Ratzlaff (1897-1979), known for his abstract expressionist paintings, and Canadian author Brenda Ratzlaff (born 1947), who has written several novels and children's books.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ratzlaff
Among Census respondents with the surname Ratzlaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Ratzlaff 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 Ratzlaff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,200
- Two or more races3.6% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- Black or African American0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ratzlaff
Ratzlaff 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
#12,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,476
+58 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 660 places
2020
#12,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,404
-72 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 180 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,859 | 2,418 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,519 | 2,476 | 0.84 | +58 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 660 places |
| 2020 | #12,339 | 2,404 | 0.80 | -72 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 180 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 Ratzlaff 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 | #12,519 | #12,339 | 1.4% |
| Count | 2,476 | 2,404 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.80 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ratzlaff bearers went from 2,476 to 2,404 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 180 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,519 to #12,339.
FAQ
Ratzlaff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ratzlaff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,757 living Americans carry the surname Ratzlaff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,321 residents.
How common is Ratzlaff?
Ratzlaff ranks #12,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,404 people with the surname Ratzlaff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,757), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Ratzlaff.
Has Ratzlaff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ratzlaff went from 2,476 recorded bearers to 2,404. That is a decrease of 72 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,519 to #12,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Ratzlaff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ratzlaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Ratzlaff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,200 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ratzlaff 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 (3.6%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Ratzlaff (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 Ratzlaff mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German words "ratze," meaning honeycomb, and "lave," meaning remainder. 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 Ratzlaff (0.80 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 Ratzlaff?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.