2000
#73,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 247
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Reinicke
A German surname meaning "fox" or derived from a nickname based on fox-like characteristics.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 337 Americans carry the last name Reinicke. That puts it at #71,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,017,075 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reinicke 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
337
1 in 1,017,075
Census rank
#71,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
294
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 294 bearers of the surname Reinicke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 71480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinicke, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reinicke
The surname REINICKE has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Reinecke," which means "little fox" or "little red one." This name was likely originally a nickname given to someone with reddish-brown hair or a particularly cunning personality, similar to the fox's reputation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name REINICKE can be found in the 1589 baptismal records of St. Michael's Church in Berlin, where a child named Hans Reinicke was christened. The name also appears in the 1605 tax records of the town of Lübben, located in the state of Brandenburg.
In the 17th century, the name REINICKE is mentioned in the Chronicles of Saxony, a historical record of the region. It is believed that a family bearing this surname lived in the town of Torgau during this time period.
Friedrich Reinicke, a German composer and pianist, was born in 1824 and lived until 1903. He is known for his works for piano and his contributions to the development of the piano concerto genre.
Another notable bearer of the REINICKE surname was Karl Reinicke, a German architect born in 1856. He designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank building and the Berliner Philharmonie concert hall.
In the 19th century, the name REINICKE also spread to other parts of Europe and North America as a result of immigration. One example is Johann Reinicke, a German immigrant who settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the late 1800s and worked as a blacksmith.
The surname REINICKE can also be found in various spellings, such as Reinicke, Reineke, and Reinike, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling over time.
Throughout its history, the surname REINICKE has been associated with individuals from various professions, including musicians, architects, tradesmen, and more, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reinicke
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinicke, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Reinicke 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 Reinicke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 251
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 18
- Two or more races5.8% · 17
- Black or African American1.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reinicke
Reinicke 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
#113,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 154
-93 bearers (-37.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 40,637 places
2020
#71,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 294
+140 bearers (+90.9%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 42,311 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #73,154 | 247 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #113,791 | 154 | 0.05 | -93 bearers (-37.7%) | Down 40,637 places |
| 2020 | #71,480 | 294 | 0.10 | +140 bearers (+90.9%) | Up 42,311 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 Reinicke 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 | #113,791 | #71,480 | 37.2% |
| Count | 154 | 294 | 90.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.10 | 96.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reinicke bearers went from 154 to 294 (+90.9% change). The surname moved up 42,311 positions in the national ranking, going from #113,791 to #71,480.
FAQ
Reinicke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reinicke?
Name Census estimates that about 337 living Americans carry the surname Reinicke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,017,075 residents.
How common is Reinicke?
Reinicke ranks #71,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 294 people with the surname Reinicke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (337), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Reinicke.
Has Reinicke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reinicke went from 154 recorded bearers to 294. That is an increase of 140 (+90.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #113,791 to #71,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Reinicke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinicke, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Reinicke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (251 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reinicke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.4%), Hispanic (6.1%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Reinicke (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 Reinicke mean?
A German surname meaning "fox" or derived from a nickname based on fox-like characteristics. 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 Reinicke (0.10 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 Americans have the surname Reinicke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.