2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rodenhouse
A locational surname referring to someone from a place with housing for rodents.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rodenhouse. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rodenhouse 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rodenhouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodenhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rodenhouse
The surname Rodenhouse originates from Germany, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German words "roden," meaning to clear land for cultivation, and "haus," meaning house or dwelling. This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived in a house or settlement established on newly cleared land.
One of the earliest references to the name can be found in the church records of the small village of Rodenhaus, located in the Rhineland region of Germany. These records date back to the mid-1500s and contain several entries for families with the surname Rodenhouse or variations of it, such as Rodenhauser or Rodenhausen.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, many individuals bearing the Rodenhouse surname immigrated to various parts of Europe and the Americas. In 1678, a man named Hans Rodenhouse was listed as a passenger on a ship bound for the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York). He is believed to be one of the earliest bearers of the name to settle in what would become the United States.
Notable individuals with the surname Rodenhouse throughout history include:
1. Johann Rodenhouse (1625-1692), a German Protestant theologian and scholar who authored several influential works on biblical exegesis.
2. Gertrude Rodenhouse (1782-1856), a Dutch painter known for her intricate still-life compositions featuring flowers and fruit.
3. Wilhelm Rodenhouse (1818-1895), a German engineer who played a significant role in the construction of the first railway system in the Kingdom of Saxony.
4. Elise Rodenhouse (1867-1943), a Norwegian suffragette and activist who advocated for women's rights and educational reforms in the early 20th century.
5. Maximilian Rodenhouse (1901-1978), an Austrian-born American chemist whose research on synthetic polymers contributed to the development of various plastics and resins used in modern manufacturing.
While the surname Rodenhouse is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and can be traced back to its German origins in the late medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rodenhouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodenhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rodenhouse 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 Rodenhouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 109
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rodenhouse
Rodenhouse 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,470 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,470 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,193 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 Rodenhouse 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 | #149,446 | -1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 110 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rodenhouse bearers went from 112 to 110 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rodenhouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rodenhouse?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rodenhouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rodenhouse?
Rodenhouse ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Rodenhouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Rodenhouse.
Has Rodenhouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rodenhouse went from 112 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rodenhouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodenhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Rodenhouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rodenhouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Rodenhouse (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 Rodenhouse mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place with housing for rodents. 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 Rodenhouse (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 Americans have the surname Rodenhouse?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.