2000
#7,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,096
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.52
Rare Last name
Roseberry
A locational surname derived from a place in North Yorkshire, England, likely referring to a hill covered in wild roses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,589 Americans carry the last name Roseberry. That puts it at #7,945 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,690 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roseberry 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 Roseberry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 74,690
Census rank
#7,945
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,002 bearers of the surname Roseberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7945th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roseberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roseberry
The surname Roseberry is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the place name "Rosebery" or "Rosebury" in Yorkshire, England. This place name is thought to have originated from the Old English words "ros" meaning rose and "burh" meaning a fortified place or manor.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Roseberry can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1202, where a person named Roger de Rosebury is listed. The surname also appears in various other medieval records and manuscripts, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled as "Rosebury."
The Roseberry family was well-established in Yorkshire during the medieval period, and some members of the family held positions of importance. For instance, Sir Richard Roseberry was a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname spread to other parts of England, and variations in spelling began to emerge, such as Rosebery, Roseberie, and Rosebury. One notable figure from this era was Sir Archibald Primrose, 1st Earl of Rosebery (1616-1679), a Scottish nobleman who adopted the spelling "Rosebery" for his title.
In the 18th century, the Roseberry family produced several prominent figures, including Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery (1783-1868), who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895. Another notable individual was the English artist and engraver John Roseberry (1738-1823), whose works are held in various art collections.
The 19th century saw the continued prominence of the Roseberry family, with individuals such as Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), who was also a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895, and the writer and historian Viola Roseberry (1866-1942), who wrote extensively on English history and literature.
Throughout its history, the surname Roseberry has been associated with various place names in England, such as Roseberry Topping, a famous hill in North Yorkshire, and the town of Rosebery in Cumbria, which was named after the Earl of Rosebery in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roseberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Roseberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Roseberry 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 Roseberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.0% · 3,361
- Black or African American8.9% · 357
- Two or more races4.0% · 162
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roseberry
Roseberry 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
#7,852
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,215
+119 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 352 places
2020
#7,945
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,002
-213 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.34
Rank movement Down 93 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,500 | 4,096 | 1.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,852 | 4,215 | 1.43 | +119 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 352 places |
| 2020 | #7,945 | 4,002 | 1.34 | -213 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 93 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 Roseberry 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 | #7,852 | #7,945 | -1.2% |
| Count | 4,215 | 4,002 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.34 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roseberry bearers went from 4,215 to 4,002 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 93 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,852 to #7,945.
FAQ
Roseberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roseberry?
Name Census estimates that about 4,589 living Americans carry the surname Roseberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,690 residents.
How common is Roseberry?
Roseberry ranks #7,945 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.34 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 4,002 people with the surname Roseberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,589), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.34 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 Roseberry.
Has Roseberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roseberry went from 4,215 recorded bearers to 4,002. That is a decrease of 213 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,852 to #7,945.
What does the Census say about the background of Roseberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roseberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Roseberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (3,361 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roseberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.0%), Black (8.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Roseberry (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 Roseberry mean?
A locational surname derived from a place in North Yorkshire, England, likely referring to a hill covered in wild roses. 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 Roseberry (1.34 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 common is the surname Roseberry?
Find out how many people have the last name Roseberry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.