2000
#13,207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Roose
A surname of German origin, derived from a short form of the given name Rudolph, meaning "famous wolf."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,273 Americans carry the last name Roose. That puts it at #14,475 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,794 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roose 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Roose with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 150,794
Census rank
#14,475
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,982 bearers of the surname Roose in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14475th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roose, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roose
The surname Roose is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "hros," meaning horse, or the Old French word "rous," meaning red-haired.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with variations of the name, such as Rous and Rouse, suggesting the name's early presence in England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roose can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a Walter le Rous is mentioned. Another early reference is John Rouse, a 15th-century English antiquary and historian from Warwickshire.
The name Roose has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Rowse in Devonshire and Rouse Hill in Worcestershire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the surname Roose throughout history include:
1. Sir John Roose (c. 1440-1492), a Welsh soldier and landowner who fought in the Wars of the Roses.
2. Christopher Rouse (1949-2019), an American composer known for his orchestral and chamber works.
3. Edward Rouse (1676-1735), an English clergyman and mathematician who served as the Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford University.
4. John Rouse (1593-1677), an English Presbyterian minister and one of the founders of Harvard College.
5. Sir Peter Roose (1585-1670), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
While the surname Roose has evolved and spread across various regions, its origins can be traced back to the early medieval period in England, where it was likely derived from occupational or descriptive terms related to horses or red-haired individuals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roose
Among Census respondents with the surname Roose, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Roose 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 Roose surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 1,818
- Two or more races3.3% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 52
- Black or African American1.1% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roose
Roose 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
#14,172
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,119
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 965 places
2020
#14,475
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,982
-137 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 303 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,207 | 2,120 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,172 | 2,119 | 0.72 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 965 places |
| 2020 | #14,475 | 1,982 | 0.66 | -137 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 303 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 Roose 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 | #14,172 | #14,475 | -2.1% |
| Count | 2,119 | 1,982 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.66 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roose bearers went from 2,119 to 1,982 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 303 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,172 to #14,475.
FAQ
Roose surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roose?
Name Census estimates that about 2,273 living Americans carry the surname Roose. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,794 residents.
How common is Roose?
Roose ranks #14,475 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,982 people with the surname Roose. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,273), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Roose.
Has Roose become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roose went from 2,119 recorded bearers to 1,982. That is a decrease of 137 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,172 to #14,475.
What does the Census say about the background of Roose?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roose, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Roose in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (1,818 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roose appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Roose (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 Roose mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from a short form of the given name Rudolph, meaning "famous wolf." 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 Roose (0.66 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 Roose?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.