2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rewald
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "reed forest".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Rewald. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rewald 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Rewald in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rewald
The surname REWALD has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German words "reu" meaning "regret" and "wald" meaning "forest" or "woods". This suggests that the name may have originally been given to someone who lived in or near a forest, perhaps as a hunter or woodsman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the German city of Nürnberg (Nuremberg), where a certain Hans Rewald was mentioned in a church registry from 1573. Additionally, there are records of a Michael Rewald in the town of Worms in 1598.
The name appears to have spread from its origins in the German states to other parts of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. For example, a Johann Rewald was born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1623. The name also found its way to the Netherlands, where a Jan Rewald was born in Amsterdam in 1678.
In later centuries, the REWALD surname became more widely dispersed. One notable figure was the German-American art historian John Rewald (1912-1994), who was a leading expert on the works of Paul Cézanne and other Post-Impressionist artists. Another was the German writer and journalist Paul Rewald (1867-1947), who published several novels and short stories in the early 20th century.
Other individuals of note with the REWALD surname include the German-American architect and designer Erich Rewald (1918-2008), who worked on projects for the United Nations and the American Museum of Natural History. There was also a Swiss mathematician named Jakob Rewald (1769-1825), who made contributions to the field of number theory.
In England, the name can be traced back to the 19th century, with records showing a William Rewald born in London in 1832. While the surname is not as common in the English-speaking world, it has maintained its presence in various parts of Europe and the Americas due to immigration from Germany and other regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rewald
Among Census respondents with the surname Rewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rewald 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 Rewald surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.3% · 102
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rewald
Rewald 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-22 bearers (-17.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 29,314 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 989 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-17.1%) | Down 29,314 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 989 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 Rewald 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 | #152,628 | #151,639 | 0.6% |
| Count | 107 | 107 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rewald bearers went from 107 to 107 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 989 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #151,639.
FAQ
Rewald surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rewald?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Rewald. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Rewald?
Rewald ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Rewald. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Rewald.
Has Rewald become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rewald went from 107 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Rewald?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Rewald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rewald appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Rewald (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 Rewald mean?
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "reed forest". 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 Rewald (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 common is the surname Rewald?
Want to know how many people have the last name Rewald? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.