2000
#5,092
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,325
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.34
Rare Last name
Roden
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "rocky valley" or "reddish valley."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,814 Americans carry the last name Roden. That puts it at #5,632 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,301 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roden 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Roden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.8K
1 in 50,301
Census rank
#5,632
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,942 bearers of the surname Roden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5632nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roden, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roden
The surname Roden has its origins in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "rod", meaning a clearing in a forest or a piece of cleared land. This points to the name originally being an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked on or lived near a clearing in a wooded area.
The name can be found in various medieval records, including the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of official documents from the region of Saxony in Germany, dating back to the 12th century. Some of the earliest recorded spellings include Rodun, Rodon, and Roden.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Roden, a landowner in the town of Quedlinburg, Saxony, mentioned in documents from the year 1285. Another notable early figure was Konrad Roden, a merchant from the city of Hamburg, who is referenced in trade records from the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name Roden appeared in the records of the city of Cologne, where it was often associated with the nearby town of Rodenkirchen, which translates to "Roden's church". This suggests a possible connection between the surname and a place name derived from the same root word.
One of the most famous historical figures with the surname Roden was Sir Benjamin Roden (1572-1642), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I. He was a prominent figure in the English Civil War and served as the Governor of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall.
Other notable individuals include Johann Roden (1647-1711), a German composer and organist known for his sacred works, and Carl Roden (1812-1892), a German-American engineer and inventor who contributed significantly to the development of early steam engines and locomotives.
In the 19th century, the Roden surname can be found in various parts of Europe, including the Netherlands, where the Dutch painter Willem Roden (1817-1892) was a prominent figure in the Hague School of art.
Throughout its history, the surname Roden has been associated with various occupations, including landowners, merchants, musicians, engineers, and artists, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who bore this name over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roden
Among Census respondents with the surname Roden, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Roden 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 Roden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 5,214
- Two or more races4.0% · 235
- Black or African American3.4% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 187
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roden
Roden 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
#5,245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,653
+328 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.26
Rank movement Down 153 places
2020
#5,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,942
-711 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 1.99
Rank movement Down 387 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,092 | 6,325 | 2.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,245 | 6,653 | 2.26 | +328 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 153 places |
| 2020 | #5,632 | 5,942 | 1.99 | -711 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 387 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 Roden 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 | #5,245 | #5,632 | -7.4% |
| Count | 6,653 | 5,942 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.26 | 1.99 | -12.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roden bearers went from 6,653 to 5,942 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 387 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,245 to #5,632.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Roden
FAQ
Roden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roden?
Name Census estimates that about 6,814 living Americans carry the surname Roden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,301 residents.
How common is Roden?
Roden ranks #5,632 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,942 people with the surname Roden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,814), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Roden.
Has Roden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roden went from 6,653 recorded bearers to 5,942. That is a decrease of 711 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,245 to #5,632.
What does the Census say about the background of Roden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roden, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Roden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (5,214 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Black (3.4%). 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 Roden (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 Roden mean?
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "rocky valley" or "reddish valley." 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 Roden (1.99 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 surname Roden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.