Find out how popular the last name Renner is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Renner.

Renner, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Renner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Renner in America

Renner is the 2594th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Renner surname appeared 13,889 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Renner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Renner to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Renner

The surname Renner has its origins in Germany, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "rennen," which means "to run." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a courier or messenger, someone whose occupation involved running or traveling quickly.

One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a certain "Henricus Renner" is mentioned in a document dated 1187. This indicates that the name was already in use during that time period in the region of Saxony.

By the 13th century, the name had spread to various parts of Germany, as evidenced by records from cities like Nuremberg and Cologne. In these records, the name appears with slight variations in spelling, such as "Rennar" and "Rennere," reflecting the linguistic differences between dialects and regions.

One notable figure bearing the Renner surname was Johannes Renner, a German printer and woodcut artist who lived from around 1425 to 1501. He is best known for his work in the production of early printed books, particularly those featuring woodcut illustrations.

Another individual of historical significance was Sebastian Renner, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1535 to 1617. He is credited with contributing to the development of trigonometry and publishing works on navigation and astronomy.

In the 17th century, a branch of the Renner family settled in the region of Alsace, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. One member of this branch, Johann Friedrich Renner, born in 1661, became a prominent theologian and served as a pastor in the city of Strasbourg.

Moving forward to the 19th century, we find Albert Renner, a German artist and painter born in 1837, who was known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the Black Forest region.

As the name spread throughout Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world through emigration. One notable example is the American artist and sculptor William Renner, who was born in 1893 and gained recognition for his sculptures and public works of art in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Renner

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Renner.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Renner was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Renner has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Renner was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Renner, please contact us.

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