Find out how popular the last name Rosenthal is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rosenthal.

Rosenthal, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rosenthal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rosenthal in America

Rosenthal is the 2194th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rosenthal surname appeared 16,583 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Rosenthal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rosenthal to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rosenthal

The surname Rosenthal originated in German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria. It is derived from the German words "Rose" meaning rose and "Thal" meaning valley, essentially translating to "Rose Valley." The earliest known records of the surname date back to the 13th century.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Rosenthal was likely given to individuals who lived in a valley where roses grew abundantly or near a town or village with the name Rosenthal. Similar spellings from that time period include Rosenthal, Rosenthaler, and Rosendahl.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Rosenthal can be found in a 14th-century German manuscript referring to a landowner named Hans Rosenthal. Another notable early reference is in the Württemberg tax records of 1495, which list a Jacob Rosenthal residing in the town of Stuttgart.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure with the surname Rosenthal was Isaak Rosenthal, a German-Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived from 1515 to 1585. He was renowned for his expertise in Talmudic law and Hebrew literature.

During the 17th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johann Rosenthal, a German composer and organist who lived from 1617 to 1672. He is recognized for his contributions to the development of the north German organ school.

In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Rosenthal, a German physician and botanist who lived from 1723 to 1776, made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and authored several influential works on the subject.

Another notable figure with the surname Rosenthal was Isaak Rosenthal, a German-Jewish financier and philanthropist who lived from 1779 to 1858. He was instrumental in establishing several educational institutions and charitable organizations in Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rosenthal

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rosenthal.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rosenthal was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rosenthal has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rosenthal was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rosenthal, please contact us.

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