2000
#4,372
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,510
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.78
Rare Last name
Rohrer
A German occupational surname referring to a pipe or tube maker, derived from the Middle High German "rōrære".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,787 Americans carry the last name Rohrer. That puts it at #4,496 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,007 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rohrer 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
8.8K
1 in 39,007
Census rank
#4,496
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,663 bearers of the surname Rohrer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4496th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rohrer
The surname Rohrer is of German origin, and its earliest recorded use can be traced back to the 14th century in the regions of Bavaria and Switzerland. The name is derived from the German word "Rohr," which means "reed" or "cane," suggesting that the original bearers of this name may have lived near a reed-covered area or worked with reeds in some capacity.
The first known record of the name Rohrer appears in the 1389 tax rolls of the city of Augsburg, Bavaria, where a certain Hans Rohrer is listed as a resident. In the 15th century, the name can be found in various Swiss records, including the 1459 census of the town of Bern, which lists a family by the name of Rorer.
One of the earliest and most notable individuals bearing the Rohrer name was Johann Rohrer, a Swiss Protestant reformer who lived from 1487 to 1551. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement in Switzerland and was a close associate of Ulrich Zwingli.
Another notable bearer of the Rohrer name was Johann Philipp Rohrer (1701-1775), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. His compositions, which included masses, oratorios, and instrumental works, were highly regarded during his time.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the Rohrer surname was Friedrich Rohrer (1819-1895), a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as the President of the Swiss Federal Council (the head of government) in 1870 and 1871.
The name Rohrer has also been associated with several place names in Germany and Switzerland. For example, the village of Rohr in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is believed to have derived its name from the German word "Rohr," suggesting a connection to the surname's origins.
Other notable individuals with the Rohrer surname include Heinrich Rohrer (1933-2013), a Swiss physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his co-discovery of the scanning tunneling microscope, and Heinrich Rohrer (1861-1936), a Swiss architect who designed several notable buildings in Zurich and other parts of Switzerland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rohrer
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Rohrer 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 Rohrer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 7,143
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 218
- Two or more races2.5% · 195
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 25
- Black or African American0.3% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rohrer
Rohrer 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
#4,580
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,750
+240 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.63
Rank movement Down 208 places
2020
#4,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,663
-87 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 2.56
Rank movement Up 84 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,372 | 7,510 | 2.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,580 | 7,750 | 2.63 | +240 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 208 places |
| 2020 | #4,496 | 7,663 | 2.56 | -87 bearers (-1.1%) | Up 84 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 Rohrer 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 | #4,580 | #4,496 | 1.8% |
| Count | 7,750 | 7,663 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.63 | 2.56 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rohrer bearers went from 7,750 to 7,663 (-1.1% change). The surname moved up 84 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,580 to #4,496.
FAQ
Rohrer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rohrer?
Name Census estimates that about 8,787 living Americans carry the surname Rohrer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,007 residents.
How common is Rohrer?
Rohrer ranks #4,496 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,663 people with the surname Rohrer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,787), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Rohrer.
Has Rohrer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rohrer went from 7,750 recorded bearers to 7,663. That is a decrease of 87 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,580 to #4,496.
What does the Census say about the background of Rohrer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rohrer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Rohrer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (7,143 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rohrer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Rohrer (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 Rohrer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a pipe or tube maker, derived from the Middle High German "rōrære". 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 Rohrer (2.56 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 Americans have the surname Rohrer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.