2000
#10,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,929
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Reger
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of shelves and racks, derived from the German word "Regal."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,187 Americans carry the last name Reger. That puts it at #10,948 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,548 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reger 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
3.2K
1 in 107,548
Census rank
#10,948
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,779 bearers of the surname Reger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10948th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reger
The surname Reger has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Middle High German word "rëger," which means "mover" or "one who moves."
In its earliest recorded instances, the Reger surname was often spelled with variations such as Rëger, Reger, or Rager. These variations likely reflected regional dialects and the inconsistencies of spelling conventions at the time. The name may have initially referred to someone whose occupation involved movement or travel, such as a messenger, trader, or wandering minstrel.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Reger surname was Johannes Reger, a merchant from the city of Nuremberg, who was mentioned in records dating back to the late 15th century. Around the same time, the name also appeared in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a family of Regers were prominent citizens and landowners.
In the 16th century, the Reger name gained wider recognition with the birth of Max Reger (1873-1916), a renowned German composer, conductor, and pianist. Reger was a pivotal figure in the development of German Romantic music and is considered one of the most important composers of the late Romantic era.
Another notable bearer of the Reger surname was Johann Reger (1590-1635), a German theologian and author who served as a Protestant minister in the city of Ulm. His writings, which focused on religious and moral themes, were widely read and influential during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, the Reger surname was further associated with academic and intellectual pursuits. One example is Ernst Reger (1804-1865), a German philologist and classical scholar who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature.
Another noteworthy figure was Otto Reger (1878-1945), a German architect and urban planner who played a crucial role in the design and development of several major cities in Germany, including Hamburg and Berlin.
While the Reger surname originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, the name remains most prevalent in German-speaking regions and among communities with German ancestry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reger
Among Census respondents with the surname Reger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Reger 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 Reger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,541
- Two or more races3.7% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reger
Reger 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
#10,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,101
+172 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 268 places
2020
#10,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,779
-322 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 557 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,123 | 2,929 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,391 | 3,101 | 1.05 | +172 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 268 places |
| 2020 | #10,948 | 2,779 | 0.93 | -322 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 557 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 Reger 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 | #10,391 | #10,948 | -5.4% |
| Count | 3,101 | 2,779 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.05 | 0.93 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reger bearers went from 3,101 to 2,779 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 557 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,391 to #10,948.
FAQ
Reger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reger?
Name Census estimates that about 3,187 living Americans carry the surname Reger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,548 residents.
How common is Reger?
Reger ranks #10,948 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,779 people with the surname Reger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,187), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Reger.
Has Reger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reger went from 3,101 recorded bearers to 2,779. That is a decrease of 322 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,391 to #10,948.
What does the Census say about the background of Reger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Reger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,541 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Reger (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 Reger mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of shelves and racks, derived from the German word "Regal." 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 Reger (0.93 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 Reger?
Want to know how many people are called Reger? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.