Find out how popular the last name Riter is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Riter.

Riter, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Riter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Riter in America

Riter is the 19697th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Riter surname appeared 1,368 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Riter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Riter to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Riter

The surname Riter has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have emerged in the regions of what is now southern Germany and Switzerland, where it was likely an occupational name derived from the German word "Ritter," meaning "knight" or "rider."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Riter can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the 12th century. In this manuscript, a man named Heinrich Riter is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Bavaria.

The surname Riter also appears in the Annales Sancti Blasii, a historical chronicle from the 13th century, which documents the lives of monks at the Abbey of St. Blasius in the Black Forest region of Germany. In this text, a certain Konrad Riter is mentioned as a member of the local nobility.

During the late Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the Riter name began to spread across Europe, with various spellings emerging in different regions. For example, in parts of France and the Low Countries, the name was sometimes spelled as "Ritaire" or "Ritere."

One notable individual bearing the Riter surname was Johannes Riter, a German scholar and theologian who lived in the 15th century. Born in 1426 in the town of Nuremberg, Riter studied at the University of Heidelberg and later became a professor of theology at the University of Ingolstadt.

In the 16th century, the Riter name gained prominence in the region of Swabia, in southwestern Germany. Records from this period mention a family of prominent landowners and nobles known as the Riter von Gruenberg, who held significant influence in the area.

Another noteworthy figure with the Riter surname was Hans Riter, a Swiss mercenary captain who fought in the Italian Wars of the 16th century. Born in 1480 in the canton of Graubünden, Riter gained renown for his military exploits and is mentioned in several contemporary accounts of the period.

As the Riter surname spread across Europe, it also found its way to the British Isles, where it was sometimes anglicized as "Rider" or "Ryder." One example of this is the English philosopher and theologian John Rider, who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries and authored several influential works on logic and philosophy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Riter

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Riter.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Riter was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Riter has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Riter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Riter, please contact us.

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