Find out how popular the last name Roeske is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Roeske.

Roeske, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Roeske surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Roeske in America

Roeske is the 26313th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Roeske surname appeared 928 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Roeske.

We can also compare 2010 data for Roeske to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Roeske

The surname Roeske is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Rösch" which means "reed" or "rush," indicating that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a reed bed or marshland area.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced to the German states of Prussia and Saxony, where it was often spelled as "Rösche" or "Roesch." In the late 16th century, records show a Caspar Roesche living in the town of Torgau in Saxony.

In the 17th century, the name began to appear in various records across Germany, with variations such as "Röscher," "Röschke," and "Roeske." One notable individual from this period was Johann Gottlieb Roeske, a German theologian and author born in 1687 in Saxony.

As Germans migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas, the name spread to different regions. In the 18th century, a man named Johann Roeske was recorded as living in the town of Strasburg in Alsace, which was then part of France.

The 19th century saw several prominent individuals bearing the Roeske surname. Carl Roeske, a German painter born in 1824, was known for his landscape paintings of the Black Forest region. Another notable figure was Wilhelm Roeske, a German chemist born in 1843, who made significant contributions to the study of organic chemistry.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in 1860, when a Johann Roeske was listed as living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This likely indicates that the name was brought over by German immigrants during the mid-19th century.

Other notable individuals with the Roeske surname include Hans Roeske, a German World War II Luftwaffe pilot born in 1916, and Gerda Roeske, a German actress born in 1918 who appeared in several films during the 1940s and 1950s.

While the surname Roeske is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich history dating back several centuries and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life across different regions of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Roeske

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Roeske.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Roeske was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Roeske has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Roeske was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Roeske, please contact us.

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