2000
#4,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,004
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Rohde
A toponymic surname of German origin, derived from a place name meaning "clearing" or "rooted-out area."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,838 Americans carry the last name Rohde. That puts it at #4,978 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,730 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rohde 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rohde with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.8K
1 in 43,730
Census rank
#4,978
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,835 bearers of the surname Rohde in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4978th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohde, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rohde
The surname "ROHDE" originated in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "rod," meaning a clearing in a forest or a piece of land that has been cleared for cultivation. The name was likely first used to identify someone who lived or worked on such a cleared plot of land.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various medieval German records and documents, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus from the 13th century, which mentions individuals with the surname "Rohde" or similar spellings like "Rode" or "Rothe."
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Henricus Rode, a landowner and farmer who lived in the region of Saxony in the late 13th century. Another early example is Johann Rohde, a merchant and trader from Hamburg, who was born in 1492 and played a significant role in establishing trade routes between Germany and the Baltic regions.
The name is also associated with several notable historical figures, such as Erwin Rohde (1845-1898), a German classical scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature and mythology. Additionally, Max Rohde (1837-1916) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several iconic buildings in Berlin and other German cities.
Other prominent individuals with the surname "ROHDE" include Friedrich Rohde (1816-1892), a German jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice in Prussia, and Dietrich Rohde (1901-1963), a German naval officer and U-boat commander during World War II.
The name "ROHDE" has also been associated with various place names and geographical locations throughout Germany, such as Rohde-Schwienau, a municipality in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Rohde Island, a small island located in the Elbe River near Hamburg.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rohde
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohde, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rohde 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 Rohde surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 6,335
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 217
- Two or more races2.8% · 191
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 47
- Black or African American0.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rohde
Rohde 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
#5,043
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,961
-43 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 2.36
Rank movement Down 413 places
2020
#4,978
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,835
-126 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Up 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,630 | 7,004 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,043 | 6,961 | 2.36 | -43 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 413 places |
| 2020 | #4,978 | 6,835 | 2.29 | -126 bearers (-1.8%) | Up 65 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 Rohde 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 | #5,043 | #4,978 | 1.3% |
| Count | 6,961 | 6,835 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.36 | 2.29 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rohde bearers went from 6,961 to 6,835 (-1.8% change). The surname moved up 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,043 to #4,978.
FAQ
Rohde surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rohde?
Name Census estimates that about 7,838 living Americans carry the surname Rohde. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,730 residents.
How common is Rohde?
Rohde ranks #4,978 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,835 people with the surname Rohde. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,838), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rohde.
Has Rohde become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rohde went from 6,961 recorded bearers to 6,835. That is a decrease of 126 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,043 to #4,978.
What does the Census say about the background of Rohde?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohde, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Rohde in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (6,335 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rohde appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Rohde (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 Rohde mean?
A toponymic surname of German origin, derived from a place name meaning "clearing" or "rooted-out area." 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 Rohde (2.29 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 Rohde?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.