Find out how popular the last name Rein is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rein.

Rein, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rein in America

Rein is the 7882nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rein surname appeared 4,199 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Rein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rein to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rein

The surname REIN is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "rein," which meant "clean" or "pure." It is believed to have first emerged in the 12th or 13th century, likely as a descriptive name referring to a person's character or physical appearance.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the REIN surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a person named Henricus Rein was mentioned in the year 1292. Another early reference comes from the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Johannes Rein was documented in the 14th century.

During the late medieval period, the REIN name began to spread across various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Franconia, and the Rhineland. Some notable individuals bearing this surname from this era include Konrad Rein, a merchant from Augsburg who lived in the 15th century, and Hans Rein, a painter from Nuremberg active in the early 16th century.

As the REIN surname became more established, it also gave rise to various place names, such as Reinsdorf (meaning "REIN's village") and Reinsberg (meaning "REIN's hill or mountain"). These toponyms reflect the influence and prevalence of the name in certain areas.

In the 17th century, a famous bearer of the REIN surname was Johann Philipp Rein, a German composer and organist who lived from 1635 to 1696. He is known for his contributions to the development of the North German organ school.

Another notable individual was Johann Christian Rein, a German historian and librarian who lived from 1719 to 1783. He served as the librarian of the University of Leipzig and published several works on the history of Saxony.

In the 19th century, the REIN surname gained further prominence with individuals like Gustav Rein, a German educator and geographer who lived from 1835 to 1918. He made significant contributions to the field of geography education and authored several influential textbooks.

The REIN surname has also been associated with various professionals and intellectuals throughout history, such as Theodor Rein, a German philosopher and educator from the late 19th century, and Karl Rein, a German lawyer and legal scholar who lived from 1870 to 1945.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rein

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rein.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rein was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rein has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rein was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rein, please contact us.

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