2000
#12,418
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,292
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Riggleman
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of rigging equipment for ships or sailing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,589 Americans carry the last name Riggleman. That puts it at #13,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,389 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Riggleman 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
2.6K
1 in 132,389
Census rank
#13,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,258 bearers of the surname Riggleman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Riggleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Riggleman
The surname Riggleman is believed to have originated in Germany, derived from the German word "Riegel," which means a latch or a bolt. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked as a locksmith or a maker of latches and bolts.
During the Middle Ages, many surnames emerged from occupations, and Riggleman likely followed this pattern. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Riggleman can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," a collection of historical documents from Brandenburg, Germany, dating back to the 15th century. This manuscript mentions a certain "Hans Riggleman" who was a skilled locksmith in the town of Potsdam.
In the 16th century, the name Riggleman began to appear in various court records and legal documents across Germany. For instance, a certain "Johann Riggleman" was a prominent merchant in the city of Hamburg, born in 1534 and died in 1602.
As the name spread across Europe, it also took on various spellings and variations. In the Netherlands, the name was sometimes spelled as "Rijgelman" or "Rijkelman," while in France, it was written as "Riguelmann" or "Rigelman."
One notable figure with the surname Riggleman was Johann Riggleman, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1650 to 1723. He was a professor at the University of Heidelberg and published several influential works on ethics and metaphysics.
Another historical figure with the surname Riggleman was Friedrich Riggleman, a German military officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1778 and participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.
In the 19th century, as immigration to the United States increased, the Riggleman surname began to appear in American records. One of the earliest known individuals with this name in the United States was Jacob Riggleman, who was born in Germany in 1812 and immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1830s.
Throughout history, the Riggleman surname has been associated with various professions, including locksmiths, merchants, theologians, and military personnel. While the name may have originated from a specific occupation, it has since evolved and spread across different regions and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Riggleman
Among Census respondents with the surname Riggleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Riggleman 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 Riggleman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 2,134
- Two or more races2.4% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 41
- Black or African American0.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Riggleman
Riggleman 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
#12,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,378
+86 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 509 places
2020
#13,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,258
-120 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,418 | 2,292 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,927 | 2,378 | 0.81 | +86 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 509 places |
| 2020 | #13,005 | 2,258 | 0.76 | -120 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 78 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 Riggleman 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 | #12,927 | #13,005 | -0.6% |
| Count | 2,378 | 2,258 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.76 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Riggleman bearers went from 2,378 to 2,258 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,927 to #13,005.
FAQ
Riggleman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Riggleman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,589 living Americans carry the surname Riggleman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,389 residents.
How common is Riggleman?
Riggleman ranks #13,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,258 people with the surname Riggleman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,589), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Riggleman.
Has Riggleman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Riggleman went from 2,378 recorded bearers to 2,258. That is a decrease of 120 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,927 to #13,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Riggleman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Riggleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Riggleman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (2,134 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Riggleman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Riggleman (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 Riggleman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of rigging equipment for ships or sailing. 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 Riggleman (0.76 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 Riggleman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.