Rhine last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Rhine

A habitational surname referring to someone who lived near the River Rhine in Germany.

Rhine, 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 Rhine surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rhine in America

Rhine is the 8690th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rhine surname appeared 3,779 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Rhine.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rhine 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 8690 8185 5.99%
Count 3,779 3,728 1.36%
Proportion per 100k 1.28 1.38 -7.52%

The history of the last name Rhine

The surname Rhine is of German origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the name of the famous Rhine River, which flows through several countries in Western Europe, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The Rhine River played a significant role in the economic and cultural development of the region, and it is likely that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked along the river.

In Germany, the surname Rhine was most commonly found in the regions along the Rhine River, particularly in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and North Rhine-Westphalia. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries, when it appeared in various local records and documents.

One notable historical reference to the surname Rhine can be found in the Chronica Regia Coloniensis, a medieval chronicle written in the 13th century. This chronicle mentions a person named Johannes de Reno, which is believed to be an early variation of the surname Rhine.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Rhine was Johannes Rhine, a merchant who lived in the city of Cologne in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Peter Rhine, a scholar and theologian who lived in the 15th century and served as a professor at the University of Heidelberg.

In the 16th century, the surname Rhine gained prominence with figures such as Balthasar Rhine, a German Renaissance artist known for his religious paintings and frescoes. He was born in 1528 and died in 1597.

During the 17th century, the surname was associated with several notable individuals, including Johann Friedrich Rhine, a German composer and organist who lived from 1625 to 1698. He is considered one of the most important composers of the North German Baroque era.

In the 18th century, one of the most influential figures with the surname Rhine was Johann Philipp Rhine, a German philosopher and theologian who lived from 1737 to 1810. He was a prominent figure in the Enlightenment movement and made significant contributions to the fields of ethics and moral philosophy.

The 19th century saw the emergence of several prominent individuals with the surname Rhine, including Heinrich Rhine, a German-American botanist and horticulturist who lived from 1822 to 1892. He is best known for his work on the cultivation of grapes and the development of new varieties of grapes for wine production.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rhine

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

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 Rhine was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 85.15% 3,218
Non-Hispanic Black Only 9.18% 347
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.22% 46
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.82% 31
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.24% 47
Hispanic Origin 2.38% 90

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 85.15% 87.18% -2.36%
Black 9.18% 9.07% 1.21%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.22% 0.46% 90.48%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.82% 0.70% 15.79%
Two or More Races 1.24% 1.13% 9.28%
Hispanic 2.38% 1.48% 46.63%

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

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

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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!

"Rhine last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 3, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/rhine-surname-popularity/.

"Rhine last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/rhine-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 November, 2024

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

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