2000
#8,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,782
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.40
Rare Last name
Reinhold
A German surname derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "regin," meaning "counsel," and "wald," meaning "rule."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,017 Americans carry the last name Reinhold. That puts it at #11,453 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,608 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reinhold 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
3.0K
1 in 113,608
Census rank
#11,453
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,631 bearers of the surname Reinhold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11453rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinhold, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reinhold
The surname Reinhold has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the medieval period around the 12th century. It is derived from the Germanic elements "ragin" meaning "counsel" and "waldan" meaning "to rule." Therefore, Reinhold can be interpreted as a strong name meaning "to rule with counsel" or "wise counselor."
The Reinhold surname was initially found in areas such as Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia, where it was borne by influential individuals or those associated with ruling or advisory roles. Early variations of the name included spellings like Reinholdt, Reinolt, and Reinholt.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Reinhold appears in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a 9th-century manuscript from the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This document lists individuals with the name Reinhold who made land donations to the abbey.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Reinhold von Vetzberg was a prominent figure in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. He served as a trusted advisor and diplomat, befitting the meaning of his name.
Another notable bearer of the Reinhold surname was Erasmus Reinhold (1511-1553), a German mathematician and astronomer. He is known for his work on the Prussian Tables, which were used for calculating planetary positions and eclipses.
During the 16th century, a Reinhold family settled in the town of Hagen, in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia. One member of this family, Johann Reinhold (1556-1612), became a respected theologian and served as a professor at the University of Helmstedt.
In the realm of literature, Reinhold Lenz (1808-1892) was a German novelist and playwright. He is particularly remembered for his work "The Pandora Expedition," which was inspired by his travels to Mexico and Central America.
Finally, a more recent figure with the Reinhold surname was Reinhold Messner (born 1944), an Italian mountaineer and explorer. He is renowned for being the first person to climb all fourteen of the world's eight-thousander peaks, a remarkable feat in the annals of mountaineering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reinhold
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinhold, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Reinhold 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 Reinhold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 2,415
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 85
- Two or more races3.2% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 29
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reinhold
Reinhold 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
#9,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,551
-231 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 1,111 places
2020
#11,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,631
-920 bearers (-25.9%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 2,267 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,075 | 3,782 | 1.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,186 | 3,551 | 1.20 | -231 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 1,111 places |
| 2020 | #11,453 | 2,631 | 0.88 | -920 bearers (-25.9%) | Down 2,267 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 Reinhold 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 | #9,186 | #11,453 | -24.7% |
| Count | 3,551 | 2,631 | -25.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 0.88 | -26.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reinhold bearers went from 3,551 to 2,631 (-25.9% change). The surname moved down 2,267 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,186 to #11,453.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Reinhold
FAQ
Reinhold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reinhold?
Name Census estimates that about 3,017 living Americans carry the surname Reinhold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,608 residents.
How common is Reinhold?
Reinhold ranks #11,453 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,631 people with the surname Reinhold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,017), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Reinhold.
Has Reinhold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reinhold went from 3,551 recorded bearers to 2,631. That is a decrease of 920 (-25.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,186 to #11,453.
What does the Census say about the background of Reinhold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinhold, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Reinhold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (2,415 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reinhold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (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 Reinhold (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 Reinhold mean?
A German surname derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "regin," meaning "counsel," and "wald," meaning "rule." 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 Reinhold (0.88 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 Reinhold?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Reinhold on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.