2000
#11,547
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,497
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Rohn
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a cane or reed bed.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,212 Americans carry the last name Rohn. That puts it at #14,772 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,952 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rohn 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
2.2K
1 in 154,952
Census rank
#14,772
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,929 bearers of the surname Rohn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14772nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rohn
The surname Rohn is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Low German word "rohn," which means "to clear land." This suggests that the name's earliest bearers were likely individuals involved in land clearing or agricultural activities.
The name Rohn is thought to have first appeared in historical records in the Rhineland region of Germany, particularly in areas around the cities of Cologne and Bonn. Some of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in parish registers and tax records from the late 1500s.
One notable early mention of the Rohn surname is in the Breviarium Monasticum, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century that lists the names of various monastic officials and landowners. A certain "Johannes Rohn" is recorded as a landholder in the vicinity of Aachen, indicating the presence of the name in that region during that time period.
In the 17th century, the Rohn name can be found in various legal documents and court records from the Palatinate region of Germany. For instance, a certain "Matthias Rohn" is mentioned as a party in a land dispute case from the year 1628.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Rohn surname was Johann Rohn, born in 1621 in the town of Zülpich, near Cologne. He was a prominent merchant and played a significant role in the local trade guilds of his time.
Another notable figure from history bearing the Rohn name was Christoph Rohn, a Protestant theologian and scholar who lived from 1663 to 1737. He served as a professor at the University of Heidelberg and authored several influential religious texts.
In the 19th century, the Rohn name gained recognition through the works of the German poet and writer, Carl Rohn, who was born in 1822 in the city of Mannheim. His poetry and literary works focused on themes of nature and rural life, reflecting his upbringing in the German countryside.
The surname Rohn can also be traced back to various place names in Germany, such as Rohndorf (now part of Cologne) and Rohnbach, a small village in the Rhineland-Palatinate region. These place names may have contributed to the formation and spread of the Rohn surname in their respective localities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rohn
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rohn 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 Rohn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 1,708
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 79
- Two or more races3.8% · 73
- Black or African American2.4% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rohn
Rohn 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
#14,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,149
-348 bearers (-13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 2,467 places
2020
#14,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,929
-220 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 758 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,547 | 2,497 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,014 | 2,149 | 0.73 | -348 bearers (-13.9%) | Down 2,467 places |
| 2020 | #14,772 | 1,929 | 0.65 | -220 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 758 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 Rohn 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 | #14,014 | #14,772 | -5.4% |
| Count | 2,149 | 1,929 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.65 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rohn bearers went from 2,149 to 1,929 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 758 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,014 to #14,772.
FAQ
Rohn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rohn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,212 living Americans carry the surname Rohn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,952 residents.
How common is Rohn?
Rohn ranks #14,772 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,929 people with the surname Rohn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,212), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Rohn.
Has Rohn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rohn went from 2,149 recorded bearers to 1,929. That is a decrease of 220 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,014 to #14,772.
What does the Census say about the background of Rohn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Rohn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (1,708 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rohn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Rohn (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 Rohn mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a cane or reed bed. 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 Rohn (0.65 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 last name Rohn?
Find out how many people are called Rohn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.