2000
#28,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 790
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.29
Very Rare Last name
Roback
A surname derived from a place name referring to someone from a location containing a cleared field or meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 893 Americans carry the last name Roback. That puts it at #31,790 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 383,823 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roback 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
893
1 in 383,823
Census rank
#31,790
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
779
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 779 bearers of the surname Roback in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31790th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roback, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roback
The surname Roback originates from Sweden and can be traced back to the 17th century. It is derived from the Swedish word "rödbak," which means "red back" and was likely a descriptive nickname referring to someone with reddish hair or complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Roback surname can be found in the Swedish church records from the late 1600s, where a family with the name resided in the town of Vänersborg, located in the western part of Sweden.
In the early 19th century, the Roback name appeared in the parish records of Svenljunga, a municipality in the Västra Götaland County of Sweden. During this time, a notable individual named Anders Roback (1784-1867) was born in this region and later became a respected farmer and landowner.
As the Swedish population began to emigrate to the United States in the mid-19th century, the Roback surname traveled across the Atlantic. One of the earliest known bearers of this name in America was Carl Johan Roback, who arrived in New York City in 1851 from the province of Västergötland, Sweden.
Another prominent individual with the Roback surname was August Arrhenius Roback (1892-1975), a Swedish-American psychologist and author. He was born in Värmland, Sweden, and later immigrated to the United States, where he made significant contributions to the field of psychology through his numerous publications.
The Roback name also gained recognition in the field of academia. Abraham Aaron Roback (1890-1983) was a Polish-American psychologist and author who wrote extensively on topics related to personality theory and the psychology of language. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, and later immigrated to the United States.
While the Roback surname has its roots in Sweden, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and other countries with Swedish immigrants. The name's history reflects the journey of Swedish families as they ventured abroad, carrying their cultural heritage and traditions with them.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roback
Among Census respondents with the surname Roback, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Roback 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 Roback surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 644
- Two or more races9.6% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 21
- Black or African American0.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roback
Roback 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
#29,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 783
-7 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.27
Rank movement Down 1,553 places
2020
#31,790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 779
-4 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 1,804 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,433 | 790 | 0.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #29,986 | 783 | 0.27 | -7 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,553 places |
| 2020 | #31,790 | 779 | 0.26 | -4 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 1,804 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 Roback 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 | #29,986 | #31,790 | -6.0% |
| Count | 783 | 779 | -0.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.27 | 0.26 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roback bearers went from 783 to 779 (-0.5% change). The surname moved down 1,804 positions in the national ranking, going from #29,986 to #31,790.
FAQ
Roback surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roback?
Name Census estimates that about 893 living Americans carry the surname Roback. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 383,823 residents.
How common is Roback?
Roback ranks #31,790 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 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 779 people with the surname Roback. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (893), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 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 Roback.
Has Roback become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roback went from 783 recorded bearers to 779. That is a decrease of 4 (-0.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #29,986 to #31,790.
What does the Census say about the background of Roback?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roback, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Roback in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (644 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roback appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.7%), Two or More Races (9.6%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Roback (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 Roback mean?
A surname derived from a place name referring to someone from a location containing a cleared field or meadow. 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 Roback (0.26 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 Roback?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.