2000
#9,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,279
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Resch
A German occupational surname referring to someone who harvested rushes or made objects from rushes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,634 Americans carry the last name Resch. That puts it at #9,768 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,319 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Resch 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
3.6K
1 in 94,319
Census rank
#9,768
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,169 bearers of the surname Resch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9768th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Resch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Resch
The surname Resch is believed to have originated in Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Austria. It is thought to have derived from the German word "Ries," which means "giant" or "the tall one." This suggests that the name was initially bestowed upon individuals who were exceptionally tall in stature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Resch can be found in the 14th century, when a certain Johann Resch was mentioned in a legal document from the city of Nuremberg in 1378. This document suggests that the name had already been established in that region by that time.
In the 16th century, the name Resch appeared in various records across Bavaria and Austria, indicating its spread throughout those areas. Notable individuals bearing this surname during this period include Johannes Resch, a prominent merchant from Augsburg, born in 1521, and Hans Resch, a respected blacksmith from Vienna, who lived from 1543 to 1612.
The name Resch has also been associated with several place names, such as Reschitz, a town in present-day Romania, which was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This town's name likely derived from the same root as the surname, suggesting a connection between the two.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the surname Resch. One of the most prominent was Johann Baptist Resch, an Austrian composer and organist who lived from 1767 to 1838. Another notable individual was Johann Michael Resch, a German painter and engraver born in 1684, whose works are still admired today.
In the 19th century, the name Resch gained recognition through the achievements of individuals like Friedrich Resch, a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Reichstag from 1871 to 1879. Additionally, Gustav Resch, an Austrian botanist and botanist born in 1828, made significant contributions to the field of plant taxonomy.
As the centuries passed, the surname Resch continued to be carried by individuals across various fields, including academia, arts, and sciences. However, it maintained its roots in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe, where it originated and flourished.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Resch
Among Census respondents with the surname Resch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Resch 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 Resch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,921
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 114
- Two or more races3.1% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 24
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Resch
Resch 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
#9,895
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,267
-12 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 748 places
2020
#9,768
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,169
-98 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Up 127 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,147 | 3,279 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,895 | 3,267 | 1.11 | -12 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 748 places |
| 2020 | #9,768 | 3,169 | 1.06 | -98 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 127 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 Resch 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 | #9,895 | #9,768 | 1.3% |
| Count | 3,267 | 3,169 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 1.06 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Resch bearers went from 3,267 to 3,169 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 127 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,895 to #9,768.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Resch
FAQ
Resch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Resch?
Name Census estimates that about 3,634 living Americans carry the surname Resch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,319 residents.
How common is Resch?
Resch ranks #9,768 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 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 3,169 people with the surname Resch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,634), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 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 Resch.
Has Resch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Resch went from 3,267 recorded bearers to 3,169. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,895 to #9,768.
What does the Census say about the background of Resch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Resch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Resch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,921 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Resch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Resch (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 Resch mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who harvested rushes or made objects from rushes. 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 Resch (1.06 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 common is the surname Resch?
Want to know how many people have the last name Resch? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.