2000
#28,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 789
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.29
Very Rare Last name
Ritt
A habitational name for someone from a place named with the German word "riet" meaning "reed."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 867 Americans carry the last name Ritt. That puts it at #32,585 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 395,334 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ritt 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
867
1 in 395,334
Census rank
#32,585
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
756
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 756 bearers of the surname Ritt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 32585th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ritt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ritt
The surname RITT has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "hrîtâ," which means "reed" or "cane." This suggests that the name was initially associated with individuals who lived near reedy areas or marshlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the 12th century. Here, the name appears as "Ritte," referring to a landowner or nobleman in the region of Saxony.
In the 14th century, the name Ritt appeared in various forms, such as "Ritte," "Rytte," and "Ryttere," in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe.
Notably, the Ritt surname can be traced back to the town of Ritterhude, located in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town's name, which translates to "Rider's Hut," may have contributed to the evolution of the surname.
Among the notable individuals bearing the Ritt surname throughout history are:
1. Johannes Ritt (1563-1628), a German Protestant theologian and author from Saxony.
2. Michael Ritt (1778-1836), a German composer and organist from Württemberg.
3. Hans Ritt (1901-1990), an Austrian-American mathematician known for his contributions to algebraic geometry.
4. Martin Ritt (1914-1990), an American film director and actor, best known for his socially conscious films like "Norma Rae" and "Hud."
5. Benita Ritt (born 1953), a German-American artist and sculptor, renowned for her large-scale public installations.
As the name spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as "Ritte," "Ritter," and "Rytt." Some of these variations may have been influenced by the German word "Ritter," meaning "knight" or "rider," potentially reflecting the occupations or status of certain individuals bearing the name.
While the Ritt surname is most prevalent in Germany, it has also been found in various other European countries, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ritt
Among Census respondents with the surname Ritt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Ritt 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 Ritt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 689
- Two or more races2.9% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 19
- Black or African American1.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ritt
Ritt 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
#32,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 699
-90 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 4,374 places
2020
#32,585
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 756
+57 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 249 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,460 | 789 | 0.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,834 | 699 | 0.24 | -90 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 4,374 places |
| 2020 | #32,585 | 756 | 0.25 | +57 bearers (+8.2%) | Up 249 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 Ritt 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 | #32,834 | #32,585 | 0.8% |
| Count | 699 | 756 | 8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.25 | 5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ritt bearers went from 699 to 756 (+8.2% change). The surname moved up 249 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,834 to #32,585.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ritt
FAQ
Ritt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ritt?
Name Census estimates that about 867 living Americans carry the surname Ritt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 395,334 residents.
How common is Ritt?
Ritt ranks #32,585 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 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 756 people with the surname Ritt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (867), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 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 Ritt.
Has Ritt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ritt went from 699 recorded bearers to 756. That is an increase of 57 (+8.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #32,834 to #32,585.
What does the Census say about the background of Ritt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ritt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Ritt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (689 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ritt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Ritt (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 Ritt mean?
A habitational name for someone from a place named with the German word "riet" meaning "reed." 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 Ritt (0.25 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 last name Ritt?
Find out how common the surname Ritt is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.