2000
#4,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,093
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.00
Rare Last name
Roller
An occupational surname referring to someone who operated a rolling mill or flattened metal sheets.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,393 Americans carry the last name Roller. That puts it at #4,698 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,838 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roller 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
8.4K
1 in 40,838
Census rank
#4,698
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,319 bearers of the surname Roller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4698th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roller, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roller
The surname Roller is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is an occupational name derived from the Old High German word "rol," meaning "to roll" or "to turn." The name likely referred to someone who worked as a roller of cloth or a maker of rollers used in various trades.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roller can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the 13th century. In this codex, a person named Conradus Roller is mentioned in a land transaction from the year 1256 in the region of Bavaria.
In the 14th century, the surname Roller appeared in various records across German-speaking regions, including the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493. This suggests that the name was well-established by that time.
The name Roller can also be traced back to place names in Germany, such as Rollersdorf, a village in Saxony-Anhalt. It is possible that some individuals adopted the surname based on their association with these locations.
Notable individuals with the surname Roller throughout history include:
1. Johann Roller (1518-1584), a German composer and organist who served at the Nuremberg court.
2. Gottfried Roller (1599-1661), a German jurist and diplomat who represented the interests of the Holy Roman Empire in various negotiations.
3. Christian Roller (1677-1754), a German architect and builder known for his work on churches and palaces in Saxony.
4. Johann Roller (1805-1875), a German painter and illustrator whose works depicted scenes from German folklore and history.
5. Friedrich Roller (1824-1905), a German businessman and industrialist who established a successful textile manufacturing company in Silesia.
While the surname Roller has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world due to migration and cultural exchange. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the occupational and linguistic traditions of medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roller
Among Census respondents with the surname Roller, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Roller 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 Roller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 6,458
- Two or more races4.7% · 343
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 220
- Black or African American1.8% · 134
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 65
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roller
Roller 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
#4,492
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,894
-199 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 2.68
Rank movement Down 464 places
2020
#4,698
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,319
-575 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 2.45
Rank movement Down 206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,028 | 8,093 | 3.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,492 | 7,894 | 2.68 | -199 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 464 places |
| 2020 | #4,698 | 7,319 | 2.45 | -575 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 206 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 Roller 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 | #4,492 | #4,698 | -4.6% |
| Count | 7,894 | 7,319 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.68 | 2.45 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roller bearers went from 7,894 to 7,319 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 206 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,492 to #4,698.
FAQ
Roller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roller?
Name Census estimates that about 8,393 living Americans carry the surname Roller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,838 residents.
How common is Roller?
Roller ranks #4,698 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,319 people with the surname Roller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,393), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Roller.
Has Roller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roller went from 7,894 recorded bearers to 7,319. That is a decrease of 575 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,492 to #4,698.
What does the Census say about the background of Roller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roller, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Roller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (6,458 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Roller (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 Roller mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who operated a rolling mill or flattened metal sheets. 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 Roller (2.45 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 Roller?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.