2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rechenberg
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the elements "rech" meaning "meadow" and "berg" meaning "hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rechenberg. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rechenberg 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rechenberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rechenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rechenberg
The surname Rechenberg is of German origin, deriving from the Old High German words "reht," meaning "straight," and "berg," meaning "mountain" or "hill." This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived near a straight hill or mountain range.
Records indicate that the Rechenberg surname first appeared in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Swabia, as early as the 12th century. Early variations of the spelling included Rechtenberg, Rehtenberg, and Rechtenperg.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Henricus de Rechtenberg, a knight mentioned in a charter dated 1190 from the town of Salzburg, Austria. The Rechenberg name also appears in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Raittenbuch, a manuscript from the late 12th century that recorded land transactions in the region.
In the 14th century, the Rechenberg family established itself as a prominent noble lineage in Saxony, with their ancestral seat located in the town of Rechenberg, near the city of Freiberg. Notable members of this family include Johann von Rechenberg (1376-1447), a Saxon statesman and diplomat, and Christoph von Rechenberg (1542-1613), a military commander who served during the Thirty Years' War.
Another notable figure bearing the Rechenberg name was Philipp von Rechenberg (1498-1564), a German jurist and humanist scholar who served as the Chancellor of the University of Tübingen in the 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Rechenberg surname spread beyond Germany, with some bearers settling in neighboring regions such as the Netherlands and Switzerland. One notable individual from this period was Johann Michael Rechenberg (1655-1723), a Swiss mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of comets and planetary orbits.
Over the centuries, the Rechenberg name has been associated with numerous other notable individuals, including the German painter Franz Rechenberg (1766-1837), the Austrian composer and conductor Johann Rechenberg (1841-1909), and the German architect and urban planner Ernst Rechenberg (1879-1964).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rechenberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Rechenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rechenberg 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 Rechenberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rechenberg
Rechenberg 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
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-5 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 16,067 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+10 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 16,067 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 11,529 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 Rechenberg 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 | #160,975 | #149,446 | 7.2% |
| Count | 100 | 110 | 10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rechenberg bearers went from 100 to 110 (+10.0% change). The surname moved up 11,529 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rechenberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rechenberg?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rechenberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rechenberg?
Rechenberg ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Rechenberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Rechenberg.
Has Rechenberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rechenberg went from 100 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 10 (+10.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rechenberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rechenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Rechenberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rechenberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Rechenberg (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 Rechenberg mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the elements "rech" meaning "meadow" and "berg" meaning "hill." 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 Rechenberg (0.04 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 common is the surname Rechenberg?
Find out how many people are called Rechenberg on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.