2000
#36,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 582
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.22
Very Rare Last name
Riedesel
A German topographic surname for someone from a place named Rieden or Riedesel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 652 Americans carry the last name Riedesel. That puts it at #41,249 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 525,697 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Riedesel 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
652
1 in 525,697
Census rank
#41,249
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
569
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 569 bearers of the surname Riedesel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 41249th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Riedesel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Riedesel
The surname RIEDESEL is of German origin and dates back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old German words "Riet" meaning reed or cattail, and "sele" meaning dwelling or house, suggesting that the name was originally a locational name for someone who lived near reeds or in a house surrounded by reeds.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Konrad Riedesel, a knight mentioned in a charter from the city of Kassel in 1290.
The RIEDESEL name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most prominent figures was Friedrich Adolph Riedesel (1738-1800), a German-born officer who served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded German auxiliary troops and was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
Another historical figure with this surname was Johann Hermann Riedesel (1740-1785), a German jurist and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Helmstedt. He wrote extensively on topics such as natural law and the philosophy of law.
In the 19th century, Carl Riedesel (1827-1888) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin, including the Reichstag building and the Alte Nationalgalerie.
The name RIEDESEL has also been associated with several places in Germany, such as the town of Riedesel in the state of Hesse, which was likely named after an early bearer of the surname.
It is worth noting that the spelling of the name has varied slightly over time, with alternative forms such as Riedsel, Riedesell, and Riedselmann appearing in historical records.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Riedesel
Among Census respondents with the surname Riedesel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Riedesel 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 Riedesel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 528
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 22
- Two or more races2.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Riedesel
Riedesel 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
#36,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 607
+25 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Down 460 places
2020
#41,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 569
-38 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Down 4,461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #36,328 | 582 | 0.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,788 | 607 | 0.21 | +25 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 460 places |
| 2020 | #41,249 | 569 | 0.19 | -38 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 4,461 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 Riedesel 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 | #36,788 | #41,249 | -12.1% |
| Count | 607 | 569 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.19 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Riedesel bearers went from 607 to 569 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 4,461 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,788 to #41,249.
FAQ
Riedesel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Riedesel?
Name Census estimates that about 652 living Americans carry the surname Riedesel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 525,697 residents.
How common is Riedesel?
Riedesel ranks #41,249 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.19 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 569 people with the surname Riedesel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.19 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 Riedesel.
Has Riedesel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Riedesel went from 607 recorded bearers to 569. That is a decrease of 38 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #36,788 to #41,249.
What does the Census say about the background of Riedesel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Riedesel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Riedesel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (528 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Riedesel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Riedesel (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 Riedesel mean?
A German topographic surname for someone from a place named Rieden or Riedesel. 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 Riedesel (0.19 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 Riedesel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Riedesel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.