2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rellergert
A surname of German origin potentially derived from a place name or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Rellergert. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rellergert 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Rellergert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rellergert, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rellergert
The surname Rellergert has its origins in the northern regions of Germany, dating back to the late 15th century. It is believed to have evolved from the Old German word "reller," which referred to a person who worked with wood or crafted barrels. The suffix "gert" is thought to have been a variation of the more common "-gart," meaning an enclosed area or garden.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rellergert can be found in the Sachsenspiegel, a medieval legal code compiled in the late 13th century. It mentions a certain "Johannes Rellergert" from the town of Lübeck, who was involved in a dispute over land ownership.
In the 16th century, the name Rellergert appears in several church records in the regions of Mecklenburg and Pomerania. Notably, a Christoph Rellergert (1512-1587) was a respected cooper and landowner in the town of Rostock.
During the 17th century, a branch of the Rellergert family settled in the area around the village of Rellergerhausen, near the city of Hannover. This village likely took its name from the family, and the earliest known record of the place name dates back to 1642.
In the late 18th century, a Johann Wilhelm Rellergert (1745-1819) gained some notoriety as a scholar and linguist. He authored several works on the Germanic languages and was a professor at the University of Göttingen.
Another notable figure was Katharina Rellergert (1823-1892), a prominent philanthropist and advocate for women's education in the city of Hamburg. She founded several schools and contributed significantly to the establishment of educational opportunities for underprivileged girls in the region.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Rellergert name continued to be associated with various craftsmen, merchants, and academics in northern Germany. While not an exceedingly common surname, it maintained a presence in the historical records of several towns and cities in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rellergert
Among Census respondents with the surname Rellergert, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Rellergert 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 Rellergert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 98
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rellergert
Rellergert 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-7 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,758 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-14 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,804 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 15,758 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 9,804 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 Rellergert 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 | #146,201 | #156,005 | -6.7% |
| Count | 113 | 99 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rellergert bearers went from 113 to 99 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 9,804 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #156,005.
FAQ
Rellergert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rellergert?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Rellergert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Rellergert?
Rellergert ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Rellergert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Rellergert.
Has Rellergert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rellergert went from 113 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 14 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Rellergert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rellergert, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%). 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 Rellergert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rellergert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Black (1.0%). 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 Rellergert (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 Rellergert mean?
A surname of German origin potentially derived from a place name or occupation. 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 Rellergert (0.03 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 share the surname Rellergert?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.