2000
#1,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,233
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.84
Uncommon Last name
Richter
An occupational surname referring to a judge or arbiter of justice in German-speaking regions.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 32,606 Americans carry the last name Richter. That puts it at #1,216 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,512 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Richter 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Richter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
33K
1 in 10,512
Census rank
#1,216
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
28K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 28,434 bearers of the surname Richter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1216th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Richter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Richter
The surname Richter originates from Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Richter," which translates to "judge" in English. This occupational surname was initially given to those who served as judges or magistrates in their respective communities.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Richter can be found in various Germanic regions during the 13th and 14th centuries. In some areas, the name was also spelled as "Richtar" or "Richter." One of the earliest known records appears in a medieval manuscript from the city of Nuremberg, dated 1287, which mentions a certain "Hans Richter."
The Richter surname is also associated with several notable historical figures. One of the most prominent was Johann Richter, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1537. He made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and is known for his work on the calculation of sines.
Another influential individual with this surname was Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, a German novelist and satirist who lived from 1763 to 1825. He is renowned for his novel "Hesperus" and is often referred to by his pen name, "Jean Paul."
In the realm of music, Max Richter, a German-British composer born in 1966, has gained international acclaim for his contemporary classical works, including the album "Sleep" and his recompositions of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons."
The name Richter also appears in historical records related to various places and regions. For instance, the town of Richterswil in Switzerland is named after a family with the surname Richter, who were prominent landowners in the area during the Middle Ages.
Other notable individuals with the Richter surname include Johann Richter, a German painter and engraver from the 16th century, and Georg Richter, a German philosopher and pedagogue who lived in the 18th century and made significant contributions to the field of education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Richter
Among Census respondents with the surname Richter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Richter 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 Richter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 26,096
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 1,085
- Two or more races2.7% · 780
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 224
- Black or African American0.6% · 159
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 90
Timeline
Historical Census data for Richter
Richter 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
#1,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,880
+647 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 10.13
Rank movement Down 82 places
2020
#1,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,434
-1,446 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 9.51
Rank movement Down 38 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,096 | 29,233 | 10.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,178 | 29,880 | 10.13 | +647 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 82 places |
| 2020 | #1,216 | 28,434 | 9.51 | -1,446 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 38 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 Richter 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 | #1,178 | #1,216 | -3.2% |
| Count | 29,880 | 28,434 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 10.13 | 9.51 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Richter bearers went from 29,880 to 28,434 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 38 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,178 to #1,216.
FAQ
Richter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Richter?
Name Census estimates that about 32,606 living Americans carry the surname Richter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,512 residents.
How common is Richter?
Richter ranks #1,216 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 28,434 people with the surname Richter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (32,606), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Richter.
Has Richter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Richter went from 29,880 recorded bearers to 28,434. That is a decrease of 1,446 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,178 to #1,216.
What does the Census say about the background of Richter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Richter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Richter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (26,096 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Richter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Richter (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 Richter mean?
An occupational surname referring to a judge or arbiter of justice in German-speaking regions. 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 Richter (9.51 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 Richter?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Richter on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.