2000
#118,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Riebow
German surname meaning "person from Riebow", a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Riebow. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Riebow 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Riebow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Riebow, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Riebow
The surname RIEBOW is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period, likely derived from a combination of Germanic words or place names.
One possible origin is that it was a locational surname, referring to someone who resided near a bend or curve in a river or stream. The Old German word "rieb" or "riebe" meant a bend or curve, while "bowe" or "bau" referred to a dwelling or settlement. Thus, RIEBOW may have originally designated someone living near a curved or winding river.
Alternatively, RIEBOW could have evolved from an occupational surname, describing someone who worked as a maker or seller of bows for archery. The Old German word "rība" meant a bow, while "bogen" referred to an archer or bowmaker. This etymology would imply that early bearers of the name were skilled craftsmen or tradesmen in the bow-making industry.
Historical records mentioning the RIEBOW surname are scarce, but a few examples can be found in various German chronicles and documents from the 13th to 16th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances is a reference to a "Hans Riebow" in a land registry from the town of Halberstadt, dated 1387.
Another notable bearer of the name was Johannes Riebow, a Lutheran minister and theologian who lived in the city of Rostock in the late 16th century (c. 1550-1618). He was known for his sermons and published works on religious doctrine.
In the 17th century, a merchant named Peter Riebow was mentioned in the trade records of the city of Hamburg, dealing in goods from the Baltic region.
During the 18th century, a family of landowners with the surname RIEBOW held estates in the region of Saxony. One member of this family, Friedrich Wilhelm Riebow (1721-1798), was a minor nobleman and served as a magistrate in the court system of the Electorate of Saxony.
Another individual of note was the 19th-century writer and journalist Karl Riebow (1823-1887), who worked for various newspapers in Berlin and wrote several novels and short stories depicting the lives of the working class in Prussia.
While the RIEBOW surname is not among the most common in Germany today, it has a rich history and can be traced back to the medieval era, possibly originating from a descriptive term relating to a geographic feature or an occupational trade.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Riebow
Among Census respondents with the surname Riebow, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Riebow 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 Riebow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 112
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Riebow
Riebow 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
-6 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,374 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-13 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,660 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,236 | 136 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 12,374 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 13,660 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 Riebow 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 | #130,610 | #144,270 | -10.5% |
| Count | 130 | 117 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Riebow bearers went from 130 to 117 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 13,660 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #144,270.
FAQ
Riebow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Riebow?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Riebow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Riebow?
Riebow ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Riebow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Riebow.
Has Riebow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Riebow went from 130 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Riebow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Riebow, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Riebow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Riebow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Riebow (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 Riebow mean?
German surname meaning "person from Riebow", a place name. 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 Riebow (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 share the surname Riebow?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.