2000
#21,254
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,150
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.43
Rare Last name
Rodewald
A surname originating from the German words "rod" (land clearing) and "wald" (forest), referring to a person involved in clearing forestland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,314 Americans carry the last name Rodewald. That puts it at #22,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 260,848 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rodewald 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
1.3K
1 in 260,848
Census rank
#22,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,146 bearers of the surname Rodewald in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rodewald
The surname Rodewald originated in Germany and is believed to date back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German words "rode," meaning a clearing or cleared land, and "wald," meaning forest or woods. As such, the name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a clearing in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Rodewalde, near Halberstadt in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The town's name, which dates back to the 13th century, is strikingly similar to the surname and may indicate a connection between the two.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Johann Rodewald (1588-1657) was a German theologian and professor of theology at the University of Greifswald. He was known for his work on the Book of Revelation and his defense of Lutheran orthodoxy.
Another early bearer of the name was Johann Friedrich Rodewald (1713-1784), a German composer and organist who served as the court organist and composer for the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
In the 19th century, Carl Rodewald (1808-1879) was a German historian and writer who authored several works on the history of Pomerania, a region in northern Germany.
Moving into the 20th century, Ilse Rodewald (1897-1975) was a German actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the early part of the century.
Hans Rodewald (1920-2005) was a German-born American physicist who made significant contributions to the study of solid-state physics and the development of semiconductor devices.
While these are just a few examples, the surname Rodewald has a long and storied history, reflecting its origins in the forested regions of Germany and the contributions of its bearers over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rodewald
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rodewald 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 Rodewald surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,068
- Two or more races2.6% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 8
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rodewald
Rodewald 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
#21,926
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,184
+34 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 672 places
2020
#22,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,146
-38 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Down 1,024 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,254 | 1,150 | 0.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,926 | 1,184 | 0.40 | +34 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 672 places |
| 2020 | #22,950 | 1,146 | 0.38 | -38 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 1,024 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 Rodewald 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 | #21,926 | #22,950 | -4.7% |
| Count | 1,184 | 1,146 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.40 | 0.38 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rodewald bearers went from 1,184 to 1,146 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 1,024 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,926 to #22,950.
FAQ
Rodewald surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rodewald?
Name Census estimates that about 1,314 living Americans carry the surname Rodewald. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 260,848 residents.
How common is Rodewald?
Rodewald ranks #22,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.38 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 1,146 people with the surname Rodewald. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,314), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.38 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 Rodewald.
Has Rodewald become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rodewald went from 1,184 recorded bearers to 1,146. That is a decrease of 38 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,926 to #22,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Rodewald?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rodewald, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Rodewald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,068 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rodewald appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Rodewald (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 Rodewald mean?
A surname originating from the German words "rod" (land clearing) and "wald" (forest), referring to a person involved in clearing forestland. 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 Rodewald (0.38 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 Rodewald?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.