2000
#5,215
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,152
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.28
Rare Last name
Rosenfeld
A German and Jewish surname referring to someone living in a field of roses or near a rose garden.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,127 Americans carry the last name Rosenfeld. That puts it at #5,420 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,092 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosenfeld 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 Rosenfeld with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.1K
1 in 48,092
Census rank
#5,420
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,215 bearers of the surname Rosenfeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5420th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosenfeld
The surname Rosenfeld is of German origin, derived from the German words "Rosen" meaning "rose" and "Feld" meaning "field." It likely originated in the Middle Ages when surnames began to emerge, indicating a person who lived near a field of roses or owned land where roses grew.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around modern-day Bavaria and Saxony. Historical records show variations of the spelling, such as Rosenfeldt, Rosenfeldt, and Rosenfelter, which were common during that time.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Rosenfeld can be found in a manuscript from the town of Nürnberg, dated 1327, which mentions a "Hans Rosenfeld" as a landowner. Additionally, the name appears in the tax records of the city of Leipzig in the late 15th century.
Notable individuals with the surname Rosenfeld include Johann Rosenfeld (1545-1623), a German theologian and author of several religious texts, and Johann Georg Rosenfeld (1735-1803), a German composer and organist who served at the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin.
In the 19th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Samuel Rosenfeld (1837-1902), a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist who co-founded the Rosenfeld Bank in Frankfurt. His son, Otto Rosenfeld (1865-1936), followed in his footsteps and became a prominent figure in the German financial sector.
Another notable individual with the surname Rosenfeld was Kurt Rosenfeld (1877-1946), a German-American physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of general relativity and worked alongside Albert Einstein.
As the surname Rosenfeld spread across Europe and beyond, it was carried by families migrating to different parts of the world, leading to its presence in various countries today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosenfeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosenfeld 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 Rosenfeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 5,784
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 231
- Two or more races1.6% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 58
- Black or African American0.5% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld 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
#5,371
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,484
+332 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Down 156 places
2020
#5,420
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,215
-269 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 2.08
Rank movement Down 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,215 | 6,152 | 2.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,371 | 6,484 | 2.20 | +332 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 156 places |
| 2020 | #5,420 | 6,215 | 2.08 | -269 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 49 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 Rosenfeld 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 | #5,371 | #5,420 | -0.9% |
| Count | 6,484 | 6,215 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.20 | 2.08 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosenfeld bearers went from 6,484 to 6,215 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,371 to #5,420.
FAQ
Rosenfeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosenfeld?
Name Census estimates that about 7,127 living Americans carry the surname Rosenfeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,092 residents.
How common is Rosenfeld?
Rosenfeld ranks #5,420 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.08 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 6,215 people with the surname Rosenfeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.08 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 Rosenfeld.
Has Rosenfeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosenfeld went from 6,484 recorded bearers to 6,215. That is a decrease of 269 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,371 to #5,420.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosenfeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Rosenfeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (5,784 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosenfeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Rosenfeld (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 Rosenfeld mean?
A German and Jewish surname referring to someone living in a field of roses or near a rose garden. 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 Rosenfeld (2.08 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 Rosenfeld?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.