Ressler last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ressler

A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German "ræzzeler," meaning a cloth dresser or cloth maker.

Ressler, 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 Ressler surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ressler in America

Ressler is the 7497th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ressler surname appeared 4,442 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Ressler.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ressler 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 7497 7875 -4.92%
Count 4,442 3,899 13.02%
Proportion per 100k 1.51 1.45 4.05%

The history of the last name Ressler

The surname Ressler is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the southern regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It is derived from the Middle High German word "risle," which means "brook" or "small stream." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a small stream or brook.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ressler can be found in the Stadtbuch von Freiburg, a register of citizens in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, dating back to the 14th century. The name appears as "Risler" and "Rissler," which were likely earlier spelling variations.

During the Middle Ages, the name Ressler was also associated with various place names that incorporated the word "risle." For example, there are records of villages called "Risslingen" and "Risselberg" in the region of Baden-Württemberg.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Ressler was Hans Ressler, a German artist and woodcarver who lived from around 1500 to 1572. His intricate woodcarvings can still be found in various churches and museums across southern Germany.

Another notable individual with this surname was Johann Ressler, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1625 to 1692. He was a professor at the University of Tübingen and wrote several influential works on theology and metaphysics.

In the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Ressler was Friedrich Ressler, a German philanthropist and industrialist who lived from 1818 to 1897. He established several charitable foundations and was instrumental in the development of the textile industry in the region of Baden-Württemberg.

Another noteworthy figure from this period was Luise Ressler, a German educator and women's rights activist who lived from 1843 to 1921. She founded several schools for girls and worked tirelessly to promote education and equal rights for women.

Finally, in the 20th century, a prominent individual with the surname Ressler was Robert Ressler, an American criminologist and former FBI agent who lived from 1937 to 2013. He was a pioneer in the study of criminal psychology and played a crucial role in developing the techniques used to profile serial killers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ressler

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

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 Ressler was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.02% 4,265
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.45% 20
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.47% 21
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.34% 15
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.74% 33
Hispanic Origin 1.98% 88

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 Ressler has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.02% 96.85% -0.86%
Black 0.45% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.47% 0.51% -8.16%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.34% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.74% 1.00% -29.89%
Hispanic 1.98% 1.28% 42.94%

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 Ressler was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Ressler last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 8, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ressler-surname-popularity/.

"Ressler last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ressler-surname-popularity/. Accessed 8 November, 2024

Ressler last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ressler-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.