2000
#12,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,297
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Retzlaff
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "rezel," meaning a maker of wool combs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,573 Americans carry the last name Retzlaff. That puts it at #13,063 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,212 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Retzlaff 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
2.6K
1 in 133,212
Census rank
#13,063
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,244 bearers of the surname Retzlaff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13063rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Retzlaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Retzlaff
The surname Retzlaff has its origins in Germany, where it is believed to have emerged around the 13th century. It is derived from the German words 'retz' meaning lattice or grating, and 'laff' which refers to a clearing or open area in a forest. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a fenced or latticed clearing in a wooded area.
Early records suggest that the name was most prevalent in the regions of Saxony and Brandenburg, where it is thought to have originated. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Staatsarchiv Düsseldorf, which contains records of a Henrich Retzlaff living in the town of Solingen in 1428.
The name appears to have spread throughout northern Germany and into neighboring regions in the following centuries. Variations in spelling, such as Retzlav, Retzloff, and Retzlaw, can be found in historical documents from this period.
One notable early bearer of the name was Johann Retzlaff, a Lutheran pastor and theologian who lived from 1554 to 1621. He served as the rector of the St. Marien Gymnasium in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) and was a vocal opponent of the Catholic Church during the Reformation.
Another historical figure was Christoph Retzlaff, a German soldier and mercenary who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He is believed to have been born in the late 16th century and served under various military commanders throughout the conflict.
In the 18th century, Friedrich Wilhelm Retzlaff (1712-1784) was a prominent merchant and shipowner based in the city of Lübeck. He played a significant role in the city's maritime trade and was a member of the influential Merchants' Guild.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America was that of Johann Retzlaff, who immigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany in the mid-18th century. He settled in the area known as the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and is listed in colonial records as a farmer and landowner.
In the 19th century, Carl Retzlaff (1813-1892) was a German-American musician and composer who gained recognition for his contributions to the development of American music education. He served as the director of music at several colleges and published numerous instructional works for vocal and instrumental music.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Retzlaff
Among Census respondents with the surname Retzlaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Retzlaff 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 Retzlaff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,091
- Two or more races3.0% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Retzlaff
Retzlaff 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
#13,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,322
+25 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 767 places
2020
#13,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,244
-78 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,399 | 2,297 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,166 | 2,322 | 0.79 | +25 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 767 places |
| 2020 | #13,063 | 2,244 | 0.75 | -78 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 103 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 Retzlaff 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 | #13,166 | #13,063 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,322 | 2,244 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.75 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Retzlaff bearers went from 2,322 to 2,244 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,166 to #13,063.
FAQ
Retzlaff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Retzlaff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,573 living Americans carry the surname Retzlaff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,212 residents.
How common is Retzlaff?
Retzlaff ranks #13,063 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,244 people with the surname Retzlaff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,573), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Retzlaff.
Has Retzlaff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Retzlaff went from 2,322 recorded bearers to 2,244. That is a decrease of 78 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,166 to #13,063.
What does the Census say about the background of Retzlaff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Retzlaff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Retzlaff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,091 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Retzlaff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Retzlaff (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 Retzlaff mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "rezel," meaning a maker of wool combs. 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 Retzlaff (0.75 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 people have the surname Retzlaff?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.