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

Ritterbeck, 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 Ritterbeck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ritterbeck in America

Ritterbeck is the 105600th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ritterbeck surname appeared 169 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 Ritterbeck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ritterbeck 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 Ritterbeck

The surname Ritterbeck originated in Germany, likely emerging in the 14th or 15th century. It is derived from the German words "Ritter," meaning "knight," and "Beck," which can refer to a baker or a small stream. Thus, the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a stream on land owned by a knight or nobleman.

The earliest known record of the Ritterbeck name appears in a German census from the town of Augsburg in 1425, where a Hans Ritterbeck is listed as a resident. In the following centuries, the name spread to various regions of Germany, with slight variations in spelling, such as Ritterbeck, Ritterbek, and Ritterbech.

One notable individual with this surname was Johann Ritterbeck (1592-1663), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar. His works, primarily sacred vocal compositions, were influential in the development of the German Baroque style.

In the 18th century, a family of Ritterbecks settled in the town of Marburg, where they owned a bakery and mill. This may have contributed to the association of the name with baking or milling. One member of this family, Friedrich Ritterbeck (1721-1789), became a respected local politician and served as the mayor of Marburg for several years.

Another figure of note was Katarina Ritterbeck (1803-1881), a German novelist and poet who wrote under the pen name "Katharina von Schöppingen." Her works, which often explored themes of love and nature, were popular in her time and helped establish her reputation as a leading voice in German Romanticism.

In the late 19th century, a branch of the Ritterbeck family emigrated to the United States, settling in the state of Wisconsin. One of their descendants, Wilhelm Ritterbeck (1868-1942), became a prominent businessman and philanthropist, founding several companies and donating generously to local universities and charities.

Finally, in the early 20th century, a German lawyer named Hans Ritterbeck (1887-1957) made significant contributions to the field of intellectual property law. His legal writings and court cases helped shape the modern understanding of patent and trademark rights in Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ritterbeck

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

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 Ritterbeck 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 Ritterbeck 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 Ritterbeck was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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