2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rockrohr
A German surname derived from the German words "rock" (coat) and "rohr" (reed or pipe), possibly indicating an occupation related to reeds or pipes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Rockrohr. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rockrohr 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Rockrohr in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockrohr, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rockrohr
The surname ROCKROHR has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the German words "Rohr" meaning "reed" or "pipe" and "Rock" which translates to "coat" or "cloak". This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with a person who worked with reeds or pipes, perhaps in the textile or musical instrument industry.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name ROCKROHR can be found in the town records of Bamberg, Bavaria, where a certain Hans ROCKROHR is mentioned as a resident in 1587. Another early mention is from the parish records of Nuremberg, where a Johann ROCKROHR was baptized in 1601.
The ROCKROHR name appears to have been particularly concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, with several individuals bearing the name appearing in various historical documents and records from these areas during the 17th and 18th centuries.
One notable figure with the surname ROCKROHR was Christoph ROCKROHR, born in 1656 in Dresden, Saxony. He was a renowned clockmaker and is credited with inventing a new type of pendulum clock that was highly accurate for its time.
Another individual of note was Heinrich ROCKROHR (1712-1779), a German poet and playwright from Leipzig, Saxony. His work "Die Schöne Gärtnerin" (The Beautiful Gardener) was a popular comedy that was performed throughout Germany during the 18th century.
In the 19th century, a businessman named Wilhelm ROCKROHR (1823-1892) from Nuremberg, Bavaria, made a name for himself as a successful manufacturer of musical instruments, particularly woodwind instruments such as clarinets and oboes.
The ROCKROHR surname can also be found in various records from the 17th and 18th centuries in the regions of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, suggesting that the name had spread beyond its initial strongholds in Bavaria and Saxony.
One final notable individual with the ROCKROHR name was Katharina ROCKROHR (1838-1911), a German author and activist from Frankfurt who wrote extensively on women's rights and education during the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rockrohr
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockrohr, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rockrohr 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 Rockrohr surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 112
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rockrohr
Rockrohr appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+5 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,983 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.5%) | Up 2,983 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 Rockrohr 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 | #147,253 | #144,270 | 2.0% |
| Count | 112 | 117 | 4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rockrohr bearers went from 112 to 117 (+4.5% change). The surname moved up 2,983 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #144,270.
FAQ
Rockrohr surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rockrohr?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Rockrohr. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Rockrohr?
Rockrohr ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Rockrohr. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Rockrohr.
Has Rockrohr become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rockrohr went from 112 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 5 (+4.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Rockrohr?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rockrohr, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rockrohr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rockrohr appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rockrohr (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 Rockrohr mean?
A German surname derived from the German words "rock" (coat) and "rohr" (reed or pipe), possibly indicating an occupation related to reeds or pipes. 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 Rockrohr (0.04 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 Rockrohr?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.