2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rehrauer
An occupational surname derived from German referring to someone who hunted or caught deer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Rehrauer. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rehrauer 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Rehrauer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rehrauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rehrauer
The surname Rehrauer is of German origin, originating in the late 15th century. It is derived from the German words "Rehr" meaning "deer" and "auer" meaning "meadow". The name likely originated in the southern regions of Germany, where many surnames were derived from geographical features or occupations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rehrauer can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Germany, dating back to 1492. The entry mentions a "Hans Rehrauer", who was a hunter and gamekeeper in the service of a local nobleman. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, given to those who worked in the forests and meadows, tending to the deer and other wildlife.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Rehrauer name can be found scattered across various German states and principalities. Notable examples include Johann Rehrauer, a respected scholar and theologian from Nuremberg, born in 1543, and Katharina Rehrauer, a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation movement in Saxony, who lived from 1598 to 1672.
As the centuries progressed, the Rehrauer name spread beyond the borders of Germany. In the late 18th century, a branch of the family emigrated to the Austrian Empire, settling in the region of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). One notable descendant was Karl Rehrauer, a respected artist and painter who was born in Prague in 1823 and died in 1892.
Across the Atlantic, the Rehrauer name also took root in the United States, with some of the earliest arrivals being German immigrants in the mid-19th century. One of the first recorded instances is that of Wilhelm Rehrauer, who settled in Texas in 1846 and became a successful rancher and landowner.
Another notable figure was Maximilian Rehrauer, a German-American engineer and inventor who was born in Munich in 1860 and later immigrated to the United States. He obtained several patents for his innovative designs in the field of mechanical engineering and is credited with developing early prototypes of the modern-day lawnmower.
While the Rehrauer name may not be as widely known as some other German surnames, it has a rich and varied history, spanning centuries and continents. From its humble beginnings as an occupational name in the forests of southern Germany, it has evolved and spread, leaving its mark on various fields of endeavor, from academia and religion to the arts and engineering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rehrauer
Among Census respondents with the surname Rehrauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rehrauer 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 Rehrauer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 111
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rehrauer
Rehrauer 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+8 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,352 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 1,352 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,162 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 Rehrauer 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 | #142,108 | #144,270 | -1.5% |
| Count | 117 | 117 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rehrauer bearers went from 117 to 117 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,162 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #144,270.
FAQ
Rehrauer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rehrauer?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Rehrauer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Rehrauer?
Rehrauer ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Rehrauer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Rehrauer.
Has Rehrauer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rehrauer went from 117 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Rehrauer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rehrauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) 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 Rehrauer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rehrauer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Two or More Races (2.6%), 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 Rehrauer (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 Rehrauer mean?
An occupational surname derived from German referring to someone who hunted or caught deer. 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 Rehrauer (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 many people share the surname Rehrauer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.