2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rieden
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the German word "Ried" meaning marsh or reedy place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Rieden. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rieden 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Rieden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rieden, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Two or More Races (8.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rieden
The surname Rieden has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Ried," which means a marshy area or a reed-covered wetland. This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic descriptor for someone who lived near such a terrain or was associated with that type of landscape.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rieden can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg dating back to the 13th century. The name appears in various forms, such as "Riden" and "Rieden," indicating the evolution of spelling over time.
In the 14th century, there are records of a nobleman named Johann von Rieden, who was a member of the Teutonic Order, a German Catholic military order during the Middle Ages. His exact birth and death dates are unknown, but he is mentioned in chronicles from that period.
During the Renaissance era, a notable figure with the surname Rieden was Hans Rieden, a German painter and engraver born in Nuremberg around 1490. He was a contemporary of the famous artist Albrecht Dürer and is known for his religious paintings and woodcut illustrations.
In the 18th century, there was a German composer named Johann Friedrich Rieden, who was born in 1733 and died in 1808. He was a renowned music theorist and wrote several treatises on harmony and counterpoint, contributing significantly to the development of musical theory at that time.
Another notable individual with the surname Rieden was Karl Rieden, a German architect who lived from 1826 to 1896. He was known for his work in the neo-Gothic style and designed several churches and public buildings in Germany during the 19th century.
The name Rieden has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Rieden am Forggensee, a municipality in Bavaria, and Rieden, a town in the district of Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia. These place names may have influenced the surname or vice versa, reflecting the close connection between surnames and geographic locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rieden
Among Census respondents with the surname Rieden, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Two or More Races (8.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Rieden 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 Rieden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino15.3% · 17
- Two or more races8.1% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rieden
Rieden 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,530 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-5 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,516 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 13,530 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 5,516 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 Rieden 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 | #143,149 | #148,665 | -3.9% |
| Count | 116 | 111 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rieden bearers went from 116 to 111 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 5,516 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #148,665.
FAQ
Rieden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rieden?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Rieden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Rieden?
Rieden ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Rieden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Rieden.
Has Rieden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rieden went from 116 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Rieden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rieden, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Rieden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (84 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rieden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.7%), Hispanic (15.3%), Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Rieden (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 Rieden mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name containing the German word "Ried" meaning marsh or reedy place. 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 Rieden (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 are called Rieden?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Rieden on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.