2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rienecker
A surname derived from a location name, likely of German origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Rienecker. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rienecker 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Rienecker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rienecker, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rienecker
The surname RIENECKER is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Ried," which means a grassy or marshy area, combined with the suffix "-ecker," indicating someone who lived near or worked on such a terrain. This suggests that the name initially referred to individuals residing or employed in marshy regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the RIENECKER name dates back to the 15th century in a manuscript from the town of Nürnberg, where a certain Johannes Rienecker was mentioned as a landowner. Another early reference can be found in the church records of the village of Kirchheim, where a family with the surname RIENECKER was documented in the late 16th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name appears to have spread across various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Notable individuals bearing the RIENECKER surname from this period include Johann Georg Rienecker (1622-1688), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony, and Anna Maria Rienecker (1738-1805), a renowned painter from Augsburg.
As the centuries progressed, the RIENECKER name continued to be found in various German records and documents. In the 19th century, Friedrich Rienecker (1809-1878), a prominent architect from Stuttgart, gained recognition for his work on several iconic buildings in the city.
Another notable figure was Gustav Rienecker (1883-1963), a German pastor and theologian who authored the influential "Rienecker Lexikon zur Bibel," a comprehensive biblical reference work widely used in German-speaking regions.
In more recent times, one of the most renowned individuals with the RIENECKER surname was Fritz Rienecker (1897-1965), a German theologian and New Testament scholar. His work, "Sprachlicher Schlüssel zum Griechischen Neuen Testament," published in 1952, remains a valuable resource for biblical scholars and students of the Greek language.
While the RIENECKER name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora, with individuals bearing this surname found in various countries today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rienecker
Among Census respondents with the surname Rienecker, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rienecker 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 Rienecker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 7
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rienecker
Rienecker 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+21 bearers (+19.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,799 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-24 bearers (-18.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 21,134 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +21 bearers (+19.8%) | Up 10,799 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -24 bearers (-18.9%) | Down 21,134 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 Rienecker 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 | #133,048 | #154,182 | -15.9% |
| Count | 127 | 103 | -18.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rienecker bearers went from 127 to 103 (-18.9% change). The surname moved down 21,134 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #154,182.
FAQ
Rienecker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rienecker?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Rienecker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Rienecker?
Rienecker ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Rienecker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Rienecker.
Has Rienecker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rienecker went from 127 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 24 (-18.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Rienecker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rienecker, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Rienecker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rienecker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (6.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Rienecker (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 Rienecker mean?
A surname derived from a location name, likely of German origin. 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 Rienecker (0.03 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 surname Rienecker?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.