2000
#10,404
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,839
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Rohrbach
A German toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a reed-filled brook or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,041 Americans carry the last name Rohrbach. That puts it at #11,368 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,711 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rohrbach 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
3.0K
1 in 112,711
Census rank
#11,368
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,652 bearers of the surname Rohrbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11368th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rohrbach
The surname Rohrbach can be traced back to Germany, where it originated as a toponymic or habitational name for someone who lived near a stream or brook. The name is derived from the Middle High German words "ror," meaning reed or rush, and "bach," meaning brook or stream. It likely referred to a waterway overgrown with reeds or rushes.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rohrbach date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. In some areas, the name was also spelled as Rorbach, Rohrpach, or Rohrpach, reflecting regional variations in dialect and pronunciation.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Rohrbach, a burgher (citizen) of the city of Nuremberg in the 14th century. Records from the Holy Roman Empire mention a Hans Rohrbach, a landowner in the village of Rohrbach near Heidelberg, in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Rohrbach name appeared in various legal and ecclesiastical documents across Germany. Notable examples include Matthias Rohrbach, a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Saxony (1521-1592), and Caspar Rohrbach, a merchant and town councilor in Augsburg (1543-1612).
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Rohrbach surname continued to spread throughout German-speaking regions, with several individuals achieving prominence in various fields. For instance, Johann Friedrich Rohrbach (1675-1736) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Frankfurt, while Johann Christoph Rohrbach (1722-1792) was a respected theologian and author from Württemberg.
In the 19th century, notable bearers of the name included Karl Rohrbach (1805-1868), a German architect and urban planner who designed several iconic buildings in Berlin, and Paul Rohrbach (1869-1956), a German politician and publicist who advocated for colonial expansion and played a significant role in shaping German foreign policy during the early 20th century.
While the Rohrbach name has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration, particularly to North America and other European countries. However, the surname remains most prevalent in German-speaking regions and among those of German ancestry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rohrbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rohrbach 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 Rohrbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 2,468
- Two or more races2.9% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 23
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rohrbach
Rohrbach 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
#11,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,816
-23 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 822 places
2020
#11,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,652
-164 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,404 | 2,839 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,226 | 2,816 | 0.95 | -23 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 822 places |
| 2020 | #11,368 | 2,652 | 0.89 | -164 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 142 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 Rohrbach 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 | #11,226 | #11,368 | -1.3% |
| Count | 2,816 | 2,652 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.89 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rohrbach bearers went from 2,816 to 2,652 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 142 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,226 to #11,368.
FAQ
Rohrbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rohrbach?
Name Census estimates that about 3,041 living Americans carry the surname Rohrbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,711 residents.
How common is Rohrbach?
Rohrbach ranks #11,368 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 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 2,652 people with the surname Rohrbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,041), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 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 Rohrbach.
Has Rohrbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rohrbach went from 2,816 recorded bearers to 2,652. That is a decrease of 164 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,226 to #11,368.
What does the Census say about the background of Rohrbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Rohrbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (2,468 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rohrbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Rohrbach (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 Rohrbach mean?
A German toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a reed-filled brook or stream. 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 Rohrbach (0.89 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 Rohrbach?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Rohrbach on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.