2000
#54,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 352
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Rare Last name
Renter
An occupational surname referring to someone who paid rent or leased land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,424 Americans carry the last name Renter. That puts it at #8,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,476 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Renter 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
4.4K
1 in 77,476
Census rank
#8,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,858 bearers of the surname Renter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Renter, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.5%) and Black (12.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Renter
The surname Renter is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "rentenaere," which means "renter" or "tenant farmer." This occupation-based surname dates back to the 12th century and was commonly found in areas such as Bavaria and the Rhine region.
Renter is closely related to other German surnames like Rentner and Rentnick, which share the same root and meaning. In some instances, the name may have evolved from place names containing the word "Rent," suggesting a locational origin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Renter can be found in the 14th-century Bavarian tax records, where a "Hans Renter" is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Dingolfing.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Johann Renter (1519-1582) was a prominent Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Jena. His works on biblical exegesis and Reformed theology were widely influential during the Protestant Reformation.
Another historical figure bearing the surname Renter was Kaspar Renter (1633-1701), a German baroque painter known for his religious works and altarpieces in churches across southern Germany.
The Renter name also appears in historical documents from the Netherlands, where it likely originated from German settlers in the region. One such example is the Dutch Golden Age painter, Pieter Renter (1610-1687), whose landscapes and cityscapes captured the flourishing Dutch culture of the 17th century.
In the 19th century, a Swiss philosopher and author named Gottlieb Renter (1816-1885) gained recognition for his writings on ethics and social philosophy, promoting the idea of a universal moral code based on reason and empathy.
Throughout its history, the surname Renter has been associated with various occupations, from landowners and farmers to artists, theologians, and intellectuals, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Renter
Among Census respondents with the surname Renter, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.5%) and Black (12.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Renter 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 Renter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.0% · 2,391
- Hispanic or Latino17.5% · 676
- Black or African American12.3% · 473
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 219
- Two or more races2.2% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Renter
Renter 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
#57,781
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 352
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 3,015 places
2020
#8,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,858
+3,506 bearers (+996.0%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Up 49,561 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #54,766 | 352 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #57,781 | 352 | 0.12 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 3,015 places |
| 2020 | #8,220 | 3,858 | 1.29 | +3,506 bearers (+996.0%) | Up 49,561 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 Renter 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 | #57,781 | #8,220 | 85.8% |
| Count | 352 | 3,858 | 996.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 1.29 | 975.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Renter bearers went from 352 to 3,858 (+996.0% change). The surname moved up 49,561 positions in the national ranking, going from #57,781 to #8,220.
FAQ
Renter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Renter?
Name Census estimates that about 4,424 living Americans carry the surname Renter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,476 residents.
How common is Renter?
Renter ranks #8,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,858 people with the surname Renter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Renter.
Has Renter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Renter went from 352 recorded bearers to 3,858. That is an increase of 3,506 (+996.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #57,781 to #8,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Renter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Renter, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.5%) and Black (12.3%). 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 Renter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (2,391 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Renter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.0%), Hispanic (17.5%), Black (12.3%). 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 Renter (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 Renter mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who paid rent or leased land. 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 Renter (1.29 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 Renter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.