2000
#11,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,478
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Rohrbaugh
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with reeds or reed beds.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,753 Americans carry the last name Rohrbaugh. That puts it at #12,355 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,502 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rohrbaugh 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
2.8K
1 in 124,502
Census rank
#12,355
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,401 bearers of the surname Rohrbaugh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12355th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rohrbaugh
The surname Rohrbaugh has its origins in Germany, originating from the late Middle Ages or early modern period. It is a locational surname derived from the German words "Rohr" meaning "reed" or "cane" and "Bach" meaning "brook" or "stream." This suggests that the name likely originated from a specific place or region where reeds grew along a body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name comes from the town of Rohrbach in the Palatinate region of Germany, which is likely the source of the surname. The name is mentioned in historical records from the 16th century, such as tax registers and church documents, in various spellings like "Rohrbach," "Rorbach," and "Rorbacher."
In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of German immigrants to America, particularly those from the Palatinate and other areas of southwestern Germany. One notable early bearer of the name was Hans Rohrbaugh, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 and settled in what is now Lancaster County.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Rohrbaugh surname can be found in various historical records in Pennsylvania, including church registers, land deeds, and census records. Some notable individuals with this surname include John Rohrbaugh (1745-1830), a Revolutionary War soldier from York County, Pennsylvania, and Jacob Rohrbaugh (1770-1841), a farmer and landowner in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, the name also appears in other parts of the United States, likely due to migration and westward expansion. For example, Daniel Rohrbaugh (1810-1892) was a prominent farmer and landowner in Fairfield County, Ohio, and William Rohrbaugh (1825-1903) was a Civil War veteran from Indiana.
Another notable bearer of the Rohrbaugh name was Jacob Rohrbaugh (1832-1912), a successful businessman and real estate developer in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who played a key role in the town's development after the Civil War.
Throughout its history, the Rohrbaugh surname has maintained its German roots and connection to its locational origins, with many descendants still residing in areas with significant German-American populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rohrbaugh
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rohrbaugh 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 Rohrbaugh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 2,292
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 44
- Two or more races1.8% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rohrbaugh
Rohrbaugh 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
#12,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,504
+26 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 796 places
2020
#12,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,401
-103 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,621 | 2,478 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,417 | 2,504 | 0.85 | +26 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 796 places |
| 2020 | #12,355 | 2,401 | 0.80 | -103 bearers (-4.1%) | Up 62 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 Rohrbaugh 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 | #12,417 | #12,355 | 0.5% |
| Count | 2,504 | 2,401 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.80 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rohrbaugh bearers went from 2,504 to 2,401 (-4.1% change). The surname moved up 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,417 to #12,355.
FAQ
Rohrbaugh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rohrbaugh?
Name Census estimates that about 2,753 living Americans carry the surname Rohrbaugh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,502 residents.
How common is Rohrbaugh?
Rohrbaugh ranks #12,355 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,401 people with the surname Rohrbaugh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,753), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Rohrbaugh.
Has Rohrbaugh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rohrbaugh went from 2,504 recorded bearers to 2,401. That is a decrease of 103 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,417 to #12,355.
What does the Census say about the background of Rohrbaugh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (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 Rohrbaugh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (2,292 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rohrbaugh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (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 Rohrbaugh (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 Rohrbaugh mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with reeds or reed beds. 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 Rohrbaugh (0.80 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 Rohrbaugh?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.