2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Reutebuch
A German surname derived from a habitational name referring to someone from a place called Reutebuch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Reutebuch. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reutebuch 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Reutebuch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reutebuch, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reutebuch
The surname Reutebuch is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the late medieval period. It likely originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The name Reutebuch is derived from the German words "reute," meaning a clearing or a plot of land cleared for cultivation, and "buch," which translates to a beech tree. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived or worked in a clearing surrounded by beech trees.
While there are no definitive historical references to this surname in ancient manuscripts or records like the Domesday Book, the earliest known mention of the name Reutebuch can be found in the parish records of the town of Reutlingen, located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, dating back to the 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing this surname was Hans Reutebuch, born in 1542 in the village of Mittelbach, near Reutlingen. He was a prominent farmer and landowner in the region.
Another notable figure was Johann Reutebuch (1592-1654), a Lutheran theologian and writer who served as a pastor in the town of Mühlacker, in the modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg.
In the 18th century, the Reutebuch family had established itself in the city of Heidelberg, where Johann Friedrich Reutebuch (1717-1782) was a respected physician and university professor.
Moving into the 19th century, Karl Reutebuch (1845-1921) was a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and genre scenes, many of which depicted rural life in southern Germany.
Lastly, Wilhelm Reutebuch (1890-1964) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who served as a member of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, in the post-World War II era.
While these are just a few examples, the surname Reutebuch has a long and rich history, rooted in the rural landscapes of southern Germany, where it likely originated as a descriptive name for those living or working in clearings surrounded by beech trees.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reutebuch
Among Census respondents with the surname Reutebuch, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Reutebuch 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 Reutebuch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 103
- Two or more races7.5% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reutebuch
Reutebuch 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
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
+3 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,915 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-6 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,186 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 5,915 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 8,186 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 Reutebuch 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 | #133,863 | #142,049 | -6.1% |
| Count | 126 | 120 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reutebuch bearers went from 126 to 120 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 8,186 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #142,049.
FAQ
Reutebuch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reutebuch?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Reutebuch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Reutebuch?
Reutebuch ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Reutebuch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Reutebuch.
Has Reutebuch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reutebuch went from 126 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Reutebuch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reutebuch, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Reutebuch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reutebuch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.8%), Two or More Races (7.5%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Reutebuch (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 Reutebuch mean?
A German surname derived from a habitational name referring to someone from a place called Reutebuch. 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 Reutebuch (0.04 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 last name Reutebuch?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Reutebuch on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.