2000
#3,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,985
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.33
Uncommon Last name
Rosenbaum
A Jewish occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a florist or flower grower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,498 Americans carry the last name Rosenbaum. That puts it at #3,782 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,649 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosenbaum 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 Rosenbaum with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 32,649
Census rank
#3,782
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.2K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,155 bearers of the surname Rosenbaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3782nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosenbaum
The surname Rosenbaum originated in German-speaking regions of Europe, likely in the late medieval or early modern period. It is a compound word derived from the German words "Rose" (rose) and "Baum" (tree), suggesting a connection to rose bushes or gardens.
Early records of the name can be found in various German regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. In some instances, the name may have been adopted by individuals who lived near or worked with rose bushes or in rose gardens.
One notable early bearer of the name was Johann Philipp Rosenbaum (1646-1705), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg. Another was Johann Baptist Rosenbaum (1737-1805), a German painter and engraver from Augsburg.
In the 19th century, the surname Rosenbaum spread more widely due to migration and immigration. For example, Joseph Rosenbaum (1770-1829) was a prominent Austrian banker and philanthropist who lived in Vienna.
As the name spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, it often took on slight variations in spelling, such as Rosenbaum, Rosenbaum, or Rosenbaum. One notable figure was Moriz Rosenbaum (1850-1925), an Austrian businessman and philanthropist who founded the Rosenbaum Shipping Company.
In the United States, the name became more common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to immigration from German-speaking regions. One prominent bearer was Walter Rosenbaum (1894-1980), an American lawyer and legal scholar who served as the president of the American Bar Association.
Throughout its history, the surname Rosenbaum has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, musicians, businesspeople, and scholars, reflecting its German origins and the diverse paths taken by those who carried this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosenbaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosenbaum 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 Rosenbaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 8,337
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 512
- Two or more races1.8% · 166
- Black or African American0.7% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosenbaum
Rosenbaum 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
#3,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,333
+348 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 3.16
Rank movement Down 159 places
2020
#3,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,155
-178 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 3.06
Rank movement Up 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,632 | 8,985 | 3.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,791 | 9,333 | 3.16 | +348 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 159 places |
| 2020 | #3,782 | 9,155 | 3.06 | -178 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 9 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 Rosenbaum 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 | #3,791 | #3,782 | 0.2% |
| Count | 9,333 | 9,155 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.16 | 3.06 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosenbaum bearers went from 9,333 to 9,155 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,791 to #3,782.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rosenbaum
FAQ
Rosenbaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosenbaum?
Name Census estimates that about 10,498 living Americans carry the surname Rosenbaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,649 residents.
How common is Rosenbaum?
Rosenbaum ranks #3,782 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.06 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 9,155 people with the surname Rosenbaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,498), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.06 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 Rosenbaum.
Has Rosenbaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosenbaum went from 9,333 recorded bearers to 9,155. That is a decrease of 178 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,791 to #3,782.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosenbaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rosenbaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (8,337 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosenbaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rosenbaum (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 Rosenbaum mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a florist or flower grower. 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 Rosenbaum (3.06 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 Rosenbaum?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.