2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Reitenauer
A German surname derived from the words "reiten" (to ride) and "auer" (meadow), suggesting an occupation related to riding or open fields.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Reitenauer. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reitenauer 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Reitenauer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reitenauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reitenauer
The surname Reitenauer is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria during the late Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German words "reiten," meaning "to ride," and "auer," referring to a meadow or pasture. It likely originated as a locational name for someone who lived near a pasture or meadow where horses were ridden or grazed.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Reitenauer can be traced back to the 15th century in various German historical records and documents. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Reitenauer, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Oberaudorf in Bavaria in the late 1400s.
The Reitenauer name can also be found in some old Bavarian church records from the 16th and 17th centuries, suggesting that the name was well-established in the region during that time period. In 1612, a Georg Reitenauer was recorded as a resident of the town of Rosenheim, located in Upper Bavaria.
As the name spread beyond its initial Bavarian homeland, variations in spelling emerged, such as Reitenauer, Reittenauer, and Reittenaur. These variations were likely the result of local dialects and the spelling preferences of individual record keepers.
One notable figure bearing the Reitenauer surname was Johann Reitenauer, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 18th century. He was born in Augsburg in 1701 and is known for his religious works and etchings depicting scenes from the Bible.
Another prominent Reitenauer was Karl Reitenauer, a German writer and journalist who lived from 1856 to 1934. He was born in Bamberg, Bavaria, and spent much of his career writing for various newspapers and publishing novels and short stories.
In the 19th century, the Reitenauer name also appeared in Switzerland, possibly carried there by German immigrants or descendants of earlier Swiss settlers with Bavarian roots. One such individual was Jakob Reitenauer, a Swiss farmer and landowner who was born in the canton of Bern in 1822.
While the Reitenauer surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration and descendant lines. In the United States, for example, there are records of Reitenauers dating back to the mid-19th century, likely immigrants from Germany or their descendants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reitenauer
Among Census respondents with the surname Reitenauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Reitenauer 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 Reitenauer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 106
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reitenauer
Reitenauer appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,001 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,001 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 Reitenauer 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 | #145,220 | #147,221 | -1.4% |
| Count | 114 | 113 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reitenauer bearers went from 114 to 113 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,001 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #147,221.
FAQ
Reitenauer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reitenauer?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Reitenauer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Reitenauer?
Reitenauer ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Reitenauer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Reitenauer.
Has Reitenauer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reitenauer went from 114 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Reitenauer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reitenauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Reitenauer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reitenauer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Reitenauer (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 Reitenauer mean?
A German surname derived from the words "reiten" (to ride) and "auer" (meadow), suggesting an occupation related to riding or open fields. 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 Reitenauer (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 have the surname Reitenauer?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.