2000
#4,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,371
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.73
Rare Last name
Reitz
A German habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Reith, meaning "clearing" or "ride."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,060 Americans carry the last name Reitz. That puts it at #4,869 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,525 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reitz 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
8.1K
1 in 42,525
Census rank
#4,869
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,029 bearers of the surname Reitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4869th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reitz
The surname REITZ is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the word "Reitz," which was an old German term for a small river or stream. This suggests that the name likely originated from a place name where the bearers lived near a small watercourse.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name REITZ can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Hesse, Germany. In the year 1274, a certain "Heinrich von Reitz" is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Reitzenhain.
Another early reference to the name REITZ appears in the Königsberger Bürgerlisten, a register of citizens in the city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), dating back to the 14th century. The name "Hans Reitz" is listed as a resident in the year 1395.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the REITZ name began to spread across various regions of Germany, with bearers recorded in areas such as Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. One notable figure from this period was Johann Reitz (1565-1636), a German theologian and author who served as a professor at the University of Leipzig.
In the 18th century, the REITZ name also found its way to North America, as German immigrants began settling in various colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Johann Peter Reitz, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 and later became a prominent landowner in the region.
Another notable bearer of the REITZ surname was Friedrich Wilhelm Reitz (1773-1843), a German-born architect and civil engineer who immigrated to the United States in the early 19th century. He played a significant role in the construction of several important buildings and infrastructure projects in the city of Philadelphia.
Other historical figures with the REITZ surname include:
1. Christian Reitz (1665-1738), a German Orientalist and theologian known for his work on Arabic and Persian languages.
2. Johann Heinrich Reitz (1767-1842), a German painter and engraver recognized for his landscape and architectural works.
3. Carl Reitz (1880-1949), a German actor and film director active during the silent film era in Germany.
4. Emil Reitz (1846-1919), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Reitz Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana.
5. Denys Reitz (1882-1944), a South African politician and soldier who served as the Administrator of the Orange Free State from 1928 to 1943.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Reitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Reitz 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 Reitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 6,494
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 226
- Two or more races2.9% · 201
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 54
- Black or African American0.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reitz
Reitz 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
#4,663
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,604
+233 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.58
Rank movement Down 220 places
2020
#4,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,029
-575 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 2.35
Rank movement Down 206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,443 | 7,371 | 2.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,663 | 7,604 | 2.58 | +233 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 220 places |
| 2020 | #4,869 | 7,029 | 2.35 | -575 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 206 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 Reitz 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 | #4,663 | #4,869 | -4.4% |
| Count | 7,604 | 7,029 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.58 | 2.35 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reitz bearers went from 7,604 to 7,029 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 206 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,663 to #4,869.
FAQ
Reitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reitz?
Name Census estimates that about 8,060 living Americans carry the surname Reitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,525 residents.
How common is Reitz?
Reitz ranks #4,869 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,029 people with the surname Reitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,060), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Reitz.
Has Reitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reitz went from 7,604 recorded bearers to 7,029. That is a decrease of 575 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,663 to #4,869.
What does the Census say about the background of Reitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Reitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (6,494 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Reitz (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 Reitz mean?
A German habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Reith, meaning "clearing" or "ride." 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 Reitz (2.35 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 Reitz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.