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

Rheingans, 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 Rheingans surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rheingans in America

Rheingans is the 62714th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rheingans surname appeared 319 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rheingans.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rheingans 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.

The history of the last name Rheingans

The surname RHEINGANS has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the early Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. It is a locational name, referring to an area near the Rhine River, one of the major waterways of Central Europe. The name is likely derived from the German words "Rhein," meaning "Rhine," and "gans," meaning "goose," suggesting it may have been a place where geese congregated along the river.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Rheinganse" or "Rheingans" in various medieval documents and records from the region. While no specific mentions of the name are found in the renowned Domesday Book, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, similar locational names related to rivers or waterfowl can be found in other ancient manuscripts and chronicles from the Germanic regions.

One of the earliest known bearers of the RHEINGANS name was Johannes Rheingans, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Mainz, located along the Rhine River, in the late 14th century. Another notable individual was Hans Rheingans, a respected craftsman and guild member in the city of Cologne during the 1500s.

In the 17th century, a family of RHEINGANS settled in the town of Worms, also situated along the Rhine. This branch of the family produced several prominent figures, including Friedrich Rheingans (1633-1712), a respected scholar and theologian, and his son, Johann Rheingans (1671-1744), who served as the mayor of Worms for several years.

Moving forward to the 19th century, Carl Rheingans (1802-1876) was a notable German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Rhine region. Another individual of note was Sophie Rheingans (1818-1892), a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights in Germany.

Throughout its history, the RHEINGANS name has maintained a strong connection to the areas surrounding the Rhine River, reflecting the locational origins of this surname. While the specific origins of the name may be lost to time, it remains a testament to the rich cultural heritage and history of the Germanic regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rheingans

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

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 Rheingans was:

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

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

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

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