2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Remster
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the Old English elements "rēam" meaning "brim" or "border" and "stede" meaning "place".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Remster. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Remster 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Remster in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Remster, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Remster
The surname Remster is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the late 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "remster," which translates to "brake maker" or "maker of breaks." This suggests that the name was initially an occupational surname given to individuals who worked as manufacturers of brakes, likely for horse-drawn carriages or other early modes of transportation.
One of the earliest records of the name Remster can be found in the municipal archives of Amsterdam, dating back to the year 1587. This document mentions a certain Jan Remster, a brake maker residing in the city at that time. It is possible that this individual was among the first to bear the surname, which would later spread to other parts of the Netherlands and beyond.
In the 17th century, several Remster families are documented as having settled in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which encompassed parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. This migration likely contributed to the dissemination of the surname in the Americas.
Notably, the name Remster appears in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (modern-day New York City) in the year 1647. One entry mentions the baptism of Pieter Remster, son of Hendrick and Marytje Remster, indicating that the family had established roots in the colony by that time.
Another prominent figure bearing the Remster surname was Johannes Remster, a Dutch merchant and trader who lived in the late 17th century. He is known to have conducted business dealings with the Dutch West India Company, which played a significant role in the colonization of the Americas.
In the 18th century, the Remster name can be found in various historical documents from the Netherlands and its former colonies. For instance, Pieter Remster, born in 1712 in Amsterdam, was a respected scholar and author who wrote several treatises on philosophy and theology.
As the centuries progressed, the Remster surname continued to spread across Europe and the Americas. Notably, in the 19th century, a certain William Remster (1821-1892) was a prominent businessman and philanthropist in Philadelphia, who made significant contributions to the city's cultural and educational institutions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Remster
Among Census respondents with the surname Remster, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Remster 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 Remster surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 110
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Remster
Remster 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+7 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,398 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-10 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,627 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 2,398 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 10,627 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 Remster 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 | #137,327 | #147,954 | -7.7% |
| Count | 122 | 112 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Remster bearers went from 122 to 112 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 10,627 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #147,954.
FAQ
Remster surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Remster?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Remster. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Remster?
Remster ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Remster. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Remster.
Has Remster become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Remster went from 122 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Remster?
Among Census respondents with the surname Remster, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Remster in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Remster appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Black (0.9%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Remster (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 Remster mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the Old English elements "rēam" meaning "brim" or "border" and "stede" meaning "place". 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 Remster (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 Americans have the surname Remster?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.