2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rinfret
A French surname derived from the words "reinf" and "reit", originally referring to someone with a cheerful, enthusiastic disposition.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Rinfret. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rinfret 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Rinfret in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rinfret, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rinfret
The surname RINFRET is of French origin, deriving from the region of Normandy in northern France. It likely emerged in the Middle Ages, possibly as early as the 11th or 12th century. The name is thought to be a locative surname, referring to a place of origin or residence.
One theory suggests that RINFRET may have originated from a place name like "Rinfray" or "Renfray," which could come from the Old French word "raine" meaning "frog" and "frait" meaning "swamp" or "marsh." This would indicate that the name may have been associated with a location characterized by a marshy or froggy environment.
Another possibility is that RINFRET is a variant spelling of the French surname "Rinfert," which itself may be derived from the Germanic personal name "Rinfrith" or "Rinfrid," composed of the elements "rin" meaning "advice" or "counsel" and "frid" meaning "peace."
The earliest known record of the RINFRET surname dates back to the 13th century in Normandy. A notable figure bearing this name was Guillaume Rinfret, a Norman knight who participated in the Third Crusade in the late 12th century.
During the Middle Ages, the RINFRET name also appeared in various medieval documents and records, such as the "Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Fécamp" from the 13th century, which mentions a "Robertus Rinfret."
In the 16th century, a prominent member of the RINFRET family was Jean Rinfret (c. 1520-1590), a merchant and landowner in the city of Rouen, Normandy. His son, Pierre Rinfret (1555-1625), was a respected jurist and legal scholar.
Another notable figure was Jacques Rinfret (1675-1737), a French colonial administrator and military officer who served in New France (present-day Canada) during the early 18th century.
In more recent history, Thibaudeau Rinfret (1879-1962) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the Chief Justice of Canada from 1944 to 1954.
Throughout its history, the RINFRET surname has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Rinfret in the Eure department and Rinfray in the Orne department, both in the Normandy region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rinfret
Among Census respondents with the surname Rinfret, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rinfret 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 Rinfret surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rinfret
Rinfret 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
+11 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 548 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-18 bearers (-13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,508 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 548 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-13.5%) | Down 17,508 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 Rinfret 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 | #128,249 | #145,757 | -13.7% |
| Count | 133 | 115 | -13.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rinfret bearers went from 133 to 115 (-13.5% change). The surname moved down 17,508 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #145,757.
FAQ
Rinfret surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rinfret?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Rinfret. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Rinfret?
Rinfret ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Rinfret. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Rinfret.
Has Rinfret become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rinfret went from 133 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 18 (-13.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Rinfret?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rinfret, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Rinfret in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rinfret appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (4.3%), Black (2.6%). 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 Rinfret (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 Rinfret mean?
A French surname derived from the words "reinf" and "reit", originally referring to someone with a cheerful, enthusiastic disposition. 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 Rinfret (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 Rinfret?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.