2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rolfsmeyer
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Rolf's meadow."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Rolfsmeyer. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rolfsmeyer 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Rolfsmeyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolfsmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rolfsmeyer
The surname ROLFSMEYER is of German origin and can be traced back to the late 15th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Lower Saxony, specifically in the area around the city of Hannover. The name is derived from the combination of the Germanic personal name "Rolf" and the occupational term "meyer," which means a steward or overseer of an estate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ROLFSMEYER can be found in a land registry document from the year 1492, where a certain Hans Rolfsmeyer is listed as a landowner in the village of Großburgwedel, near Hannover. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various church records and municipal archives across Lower Saxony and neighboring areas. For example, a Jürgen Rolfsmeyer is mentioned in the baptismal records of the city of Brunswick in 1537.
During the 17th century, the name began to spread to other parts of Germany as well as to neighboring countries. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Johann Rolfsmeyer (1621-1688), a merchant and alderman in the city of Lübeck.
The 18th century saw the rise of several prominent individuals with the surname ROLFSMEYER. Among them was Carl Friedrich Rolfsmeyer (1742-1813), a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in the city of Hannover, including the Leineschloss palace.
Another significant figure was Friedrich Rolfsmeyer (1766-1843), a mathematician and astronomer who served as the director of the observatory in the city of Göttingen. His son, Johann Friedrich Rolfsmeyer (1803-1872), followed in his footsteps and became a respected astronomer and professor at the University of Göttingen.
In the 19th century, the name ROLFSMEYER continued to be well-represented in various fields. Heinrich Rolfsmeyer (1818-1891) was a successful industrialist and entrepreneur who founded a successful textile manufacturing company in the city of Bielefeld.
As the centuries passed, the surname ROLFSMEYER spread across Germany and beyond, with bearers of the name making their mark in various walks of life. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over time, its roots can be traced back to the Lower Saxony region of Germany and the occupation of estate management.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolfsmeyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolfsmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rolfsmeyer 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 Rolfsmeyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 106
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rolfsmeyer
Rolfsmeyer 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-11 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,502 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,616 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 18,502 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 1,616 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 Rolfsmeyer 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 | #144,141 | #145,757 | -1.1% |
| Count | 115 | 115 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rolfsmeyer bearers went from 115 to 115 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 1,616 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #145,757.
FAQ
Rolfsmeyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rolfsmeyer?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Rolfsmeyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Rolfsmeyer?
Rolfsmeyer ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Rolfsmeyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rolfsmeyer.
Has Rolfsmeyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rolfsmeyer went from 115 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Rolfsmeyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolfsmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rolfsmeyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rolfsmeyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rolfsmeyer (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 Rolfsmeyer mean?
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Rolf's meadow." 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 Rolfsmeyer (0.04 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 Rolfsmeyer?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.