2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Roethke
A Scandinavian surname derived from a place name or occupational name referring to a wheelwright or wagon maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Roethke. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roethke 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Roethke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roethke, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roethke
The surname Roethke has its origins in Germany, and it is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old German word "rothe," which means "red" or "ruddy." It is thought to have been a descriptive surname initially used to refer to someone with reddish or ruddy complexion or hair color.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname Roethke can be found in the German town of Rostock, where a person named Henricus Roethke was mentioned in a document dated 1336. It is speculated that the name may have originated in this region, and over time, it spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Roethke appeared in various records and manuscripts across German-speaking regions. For instance, a man named Johann Roethke was recorded as a landowner in the town of Halle in 1587. Another notable mention is of a merchant named Hans Roethke, who was active in the city of Hamburg in the early 1600s.
One of the earliest individuals of significance bearing the surname Roethke was Friedrich Wilhelm Roethke, a German composer and organist who lived from 1687 to 1745. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Lutheran church music during the Baroque period.
In the 19th century, the name Roethke became associated with several notable figures. One of them was Georg Roethke, a German politician and writer who was born in 1817 and played a significant role in the democratic movements of his time.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Theodore Roethke, an American poet who was born in 1908 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1954 for his work "The Waking." He is widely regarded as one of the most influential poets of the 20th century.
Other individuals of note with the surname Roethke include:
1. Johann Roethke (1815-1879), a German philosopher and theologian.
2. Karl Roethke (1855-1922), a German architect known for his contributions to the Historicist style.
3. Erich Roethke (1888-1966), a German sculptor and painter associated with the Expressionist movement.
4. Helmut Roethke (1920-1998), a German writer and translator who specialized in works related to ancient Greek literature.
5. Molly Roethke (1887-1976), an American artist and the wife of the poet Theodore Roethke.
It is worth noting that variations in the spelling of the surname, such as Röthke or Roetke, have also been observed throughout history, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and orthography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roethke
Among Census respondents with the surname Roethke, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Roethke 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 Roethke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roethke
Roethke 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+17 bearers (+16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,707 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,917 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+16.3%) | Up 7,707 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 8,917 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 Roethke 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 | #138,304 | #147,221 | -6.4% |
| Count | 121 | 113 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roethke bearers went from 121 to 113 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 8,917 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #147,221.
FAQ
Roethke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roethke?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Roethke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Roethke?
Roethke ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Roethke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Roethke.
Has Roethke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roethke went from 121 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Roethke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roethke, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Roethke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roethke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Roethke (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 Roethke mean?
A Scandinavian surname derived from a place name or occupational name referring to a wheelwright or wagon maker. 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 Roethke (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 people share the surname Roethke?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.