2000
#1,280
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,271
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.37
Uncommon Last name
Rosenberg
A Jewish habitational surname derived from any of several places named Rosenberg, meaning "rose mountain" in German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,871 Americans carry the last name Rosenberg. That puts it at #1,429 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,298 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosenberg 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 Rosenberg with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,298
Census rank
#1,429
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,305 bearers of the surname Rosenberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1429th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosenberg
The surname Rosenberg is of German origin, deriving from the words "rose" and "berg" which together mean "rose mountain" or "mountain of roses." It is believed to have originated in the 12th century, potentially referring to a person who lived near a rose-covered hill or a location known for cultivating roses.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rosenberg can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval diplomatic documents from the 13th century, where it appears as "Rosenberger." This indicates that the name was already in use and well-established by that time.
In the 14th century, the Rosenberg family rose to prominence as a noble lineage in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. They were feudal lords and held significant influence in the region, with their ancestral seat being the Rosenberg Castle near the town of Český Krumlov.
A notable figure from this family was Petr Vok of Rosenberg (1539-1611), a renowned patron of the arts and sciences who supported numerous scholars, artists, and alchemists during the Renaissance period.
The name Rosenberg also has a strong connection to the Jewish community, particularly in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many Jewish families adopted German surnames during the 18th and 19th centuries, and Rosenberg was one of the names chosen, possibly due to its association with nobility or as a reference to the rose's symbolic significance in Jewish culture.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Rosenberg was Julius Rosenberg (1918-1953), an American engineer who, along with his wife Ethel Rosenberg, was convicted of passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Their controversial trial and execution sparked widespread debate and controversy.
Another prominent figure was Alfred Rosenberg (1893-1946), a German Nazi theorist and one of the principal architects of Nazi ideology. He served as the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories during World War II and was convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials.
In the arts, Henri Rosenberg (1824-1904) was a renowned French art dealer and expert on Old Masters, while Marianne Rosenberg (born 1955) is a celebrated German singer and songwriter.
The name Rosenberg has also been associated with scientific achievements, such as Ralph Rosenberg (1866-1940), an American astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of galaxies and nebulae, and Hans Rosenberg (1904-1988), a German-American historian and scholar of modern European history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosenberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosenberg 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 Rosenberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 22,601
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 766
- Two or more races2.0% · 487
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 211
- Black or African American0.8% · 189
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosenberg
Rosenberg 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
#1,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,307
+1,036 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 8.92
Rank movement Down 59 places
2020
#1,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,305
-2,002 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 8.13
Rank movement Down 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,280 | 25,271 | 9.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,339 | 26,307 | 8.92 | +1,036 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 59 places |
| 2020 | #1,429 | 24,305 | 8.13 | -2,002 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 90 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 Rosenberg 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 | #1,339 | #1,429 | -6.7% |
| Count | 26,307 | 24,305 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 8.92 | 8.13 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosenberg bearers went from 26,307 to 24,305 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,339 to #1,429.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rosenberg
FAQ
Rosenberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosenberg?
Name Census estimates that about 27,871 living Americans carry the surname Rosenberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,298 residents.
How common is Rosenberg?
Rosenberg ranks #1,429 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,305 people with the surname Rosenberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,871), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Rosenberg.
Has Rosenberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosenberg went from 26,307 recorded bearers to 24,305. That is a decrease of 2,002 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,339 to #1,429.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosenberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Rosenberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (22,601 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosenberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Rosenberg (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 Rosenberg mean?
A Jewish habitational surname derived from any of several places named Rosenberg, meaning "rose mountain" in German. 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 Rosenberg (8.13 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 Rosenberg?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Rosenberg, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.