2000
#13,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,158
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Risch
A German occupational surname referring to someone who harvested rushes or made objects from them, such as baskets.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,493 Americans carry the last name Risch. That puts it at #13,394 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,487 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Risch 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
2.5K
1 in 137,487
Census rank
#13,394
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,174 bearers of the surname Risch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13394th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Risch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Risch
The surname RISCH is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic word "risch," which means "reed" or "rush," referring to the tall grass-like plants found in wetlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name RISCH can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dated around the 13th century. In this record, a person named "Heinricus Risch" is mentioned as a landowner in the region.
The RISCH surname has also been associated with several historical figures throughout the centuries. One notable example is Johannes Risch, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1499 to 1564. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation movement in Germany.
In the 16th century, there are records of a family named RISCH residing in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the Franconian region of Bavaria. This family was involved in the local crafts and trade guilds, contributing to the town's economic and cultural development.
Another prominent individual bearing the RISCH surname was Johann Jakob Risch, a German musician and composer who lived from 1662 to 1707. He was known for his contributions to the development of the Baroque music style and served as the court composer for the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.
The RISCH surname has also been associated with various place names and their older spellings. For instance, the town of Rischau in Saxony, Germany, was formerly known as "Risch" in historical documents, suggesting a potential connection between the surname and the place name.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the RISCH surname, including:
1. Georg Risch (1592-1642), a German physician and botanist known for his contributions to the study of medicinal plants.
2. Johann Georg Risch (1697-1768), a German architect and military engineer who designed fortifications and buildings in various European cities.
3. Friedrich Risch (1804-1857), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and cityscapes.
4. Ernst Risch (1901-1991), a Swiss classical philologist and linguist who specialized in Ancient Greek literature and language.
5. Ulrich Risch (born 1947), a German mathematician and computer scientist known for his work in theoretical computer science and mathematical logic.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Risch
Among Census respondents with the surname Risch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Risch 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 Risch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,002
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 69
- Two or more races2.8% · 61
- Black or African American0.9% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Risch
Risch 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
#13,597
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,229
+71 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 569 places
2020
#13,394
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,174
-55 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,028 | 2,158 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,597 | 2,229 | 0.76 | +71 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 569 places |
| 2020 | #13,394 | 2,174 | 0.73 | -55 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 203 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 Risch 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 | #13,597 | #13,394 | 1.5% |
| Count | 2,229 | 2,174 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.73 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Risch bearers went from 2,229 to 2,174 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 203 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,597 to #13,394.
FAQ
Risch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Risch?
Name Census estimates that about 2,493 living Americans carry the surname Risch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,487 residents.
How common is Risch?
Risch ranks #13,394 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,174 people with the surname Risch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,493), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Risch.
Has Risch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Risch went from 2,229 recorded bearers to 2,174. That is a decrease of 55 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,597 to #13,394.
What does the Census say about the background of Risch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Risch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Risch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,002 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Risch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Risch (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 Risch mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who harvested rushes or made objects from them, such as baskets. 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 Risch (0.73 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 common is the surname Risch?
If you just want to know how many people are called Risch, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.