2000
#11,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,535
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Roehl
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold wheels or wheel parts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,816 Americans carry the last name Roehl. That puts it at #12,111 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,717 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roehl 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
2.8K
1 in 121,717
Census rank
#12,111
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,456 bearers of the surname Roehl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12111th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roehl
The surname ROEHL originated in Germany, dating back to the medieval period. It derives from the Old German word "rödel," which means "a clearing in the forest." This suggests that the name's earliest bearers may have lived in or near a forest clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the ROEHL name appears in the town records of Hannover, Lower Saxony, in the year 1427. These records mention a certain "Hans Rödel," likely a resident of the area at the time.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various forms, such as "Röhel," "Röhl," and "Roehl," reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. During this period, the name is also found in other German regions, including Bavaria and Hesse.
The ROEHL surname can be traced back to place names like Rödelheim, a district of Frankfurt am Main, and Rödelhausen, a village in Thuringia. These place names reinforce the connection between the surname and the concept of a forest clearing.
Notable individuals with the ROEHL surname include:
1. Johann Roehl (1597-1667), a German painter and engraver known for his portraits and religious works.
2. Friedrich Roehl (1801-1868), a German philologist and classical scholar who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature.
3. Gustav Roehl (1859-1919), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
4. Emil Roehl (1871-1944), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Roehl Transport company in Wisconsin.
5. Hermann Roehl (1882-1932), a German expressionist painter and printmaker associated with the Die Brücke group.
Throughout its history, the ROEHL surname has maintained a strong presence in German-speaking regions, though it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roehl
Among Census respondents with the surname Roehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Roehl 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 Roehl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 2,188
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.9% · 97
- Two or more races3.7% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 46
- Black or African American0.7% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roehl
Roehl 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
#12,378
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,513
-22 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 979 places
2020
#12,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,456
-57 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 267 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,399 | 2,535 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,378 | 2,513 | 0.85 | -22 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 979 places |
| 2020 | #12,111 | 2,456 | 0.82 | -57 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 267 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 Roehl 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 | #12,378 | #12,111 | 2.2% |
| Count | 2,513 | 2,456 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.82 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roehl bearers went from 2,513 to 2,456 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 267 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,378 to #12,111.
FAQ
Roehl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roehl?
Name Census estimates that about 2,816 living Americans carry the surname Roehl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,717 residents.
How common is Roehl?
Roehl ranks #12,111 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,456 people with the surname Roehl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,816), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Roehl.
Has Roehl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roehl went from 2,513 recorded bearers to 2,456. That is a decrease of 57 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,378 to #12,111.
What does the Census say about the background of Roehl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Roehl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (2,188 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roehl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Roehl (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 Roehl mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold wheels or wheel parts. 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 Roehl (0.82 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 Roehl?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.