2000
#13,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Roser
A German toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "rose garden" or "rose hedge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,146 Americans carry the last name Roser. That puts it at #15,129 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,718 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roser 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 Roser with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 159,718
Census rank
#15,129
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,871 bearers of the surname Roser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15129th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roser, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roser
The surname Roser is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for someone who cultivated roses or worked with roses in some capacity. The name is derived from the Old German word "rose," meaning the flower.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Roser can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this record, a certain "Henricus Roser" is mentioned as a landowner in the region.
During the 14th century, the name Roser appeared in various records across Germany, particularly in the southern regions. In the town of Augsburg, there is a record of a family called "die Roseren," which translates to "the Rosers," indicating their profession was likely related to roses or rose cultivation.
In the 15th century, the name Roser was also found in the Bavarian town of Nuremberg, where a notable figure named Hans Roser (1494-1562) was a successful merchant and member of the town council. His legacy is still remembered in the city's historical records.
Another prominent individual with the surname Roser was Johann Roser (1608-1683), a German theologian and author from Saxony. He was known for his works on religious matters and his contributions to the Lutheran church.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Roser was also present in various parts of Switzerland, particularly in the German-speaking regions. One notable example is the town of Roser, located in the canton of Graubünden, which likely derived its name from the presence of individuals with the surname Roser in the area.
In the 18th century, the name Roser was found in records from the Palatinate region of Germany, where a family of wine merchants and vintners carried the surname. One such individual was Johann Friedrich Roser (1738-1805), a renowned winemaker and vineyard owner in the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
As people migrated from German-speaking regions to other parts of Europe and the Americas, the surname Roser spread to different countries. However, its origins can be traced back to the German lands, where it was closely associated with the cultivation and trade of roses.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roser
Among Census respondents with the surname Roser, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Roser 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 Roser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 1,732
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 63
- Two or more races2.2% · 42
- Black or African American1.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roser
Roser 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
#14,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,114
+3 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 945 places
2020
#15,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,871
-243 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 928 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,256 | 2,111 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,201 | 2,114 | 0.72 | +3 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 945 places |
| 2020 | #15,129 | 1,871 | 0.63 | -243 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 928 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 Roser 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 | #14,201 | #15,129 | -6.5% |
| Count | 2,114 | 1,871 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.63 | -13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roser bearers went from 2,114 to 1,871 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 928 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,201 to #15,129.
FAQ
Roser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roser?
Name Census estimates that about 2,146 living Americans carry the surname Roser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,718 residents.
How common is Roser?
Roser ranks #15,129 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,871 people with the surname Roser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,146), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Roser.
Has Roser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roser went from 2,114 recorded bearers to 1,871. That is a decrease of 243 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,201 to #15,129.
What does the Census say about the background of Roser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roser, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Roser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (1,732 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Roser (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 Roser mean?
A German toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "rose garden" or "rose hedge." 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 Roser (0.63 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 are called Roser?
If you just want to know how common the surname Roser is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.