2000
#67,522
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 273
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Rossum
A variant spelling of the German surname Rossmann, referring to a horse breeder or dealer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 331 Americans carry the last name Rossum. That puts it at #72,473 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,035,512 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rossum 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.
Bearers in the US
331
1 in 1,035,512
Census rank
#72,473
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
289
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 289 bearers of the surname Rossum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 72473rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rossum, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rossum
The surname Rossum is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch words "ros" meaning horse and "sum" meaning some, suggesting a possible connection to someone who owned or traded horses.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 15th century in various Dutch records and manuscripts. One notable example is a reference to a Johannes Rossum in a 1487 document from the city of Utrecht.
In the 16th century, the name began to appear in various regions of the Netherlands, particularly in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. During this time, variations such as Rossem, Rosem, and Rosum were also documented.
The surname Rossum was also associated with several place names in the Netherlands, including the town of Rossum in the province of Overijssel, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name in certain areas.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Rossum was Gerrit van Rossum, a Dutch engineer and inventor who lived from 1577 to 1638. He is credited with developing an early form of the precursor to the modern-day bicycle.
Another prominent figure was Willem van Rossum, a 16th-century Dutch military commander who played a significant role in the Eighty Years' War against Spain. He was born in 1542 and died in 1609.
In the 18th century, the name Rossum gained prominence in the field of literature with the Dutch writer and poet Jacob Rossum, who was born in 1712 and died in 1784. His works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
The 19th century saw the rise of the Dutch economist and political theorist Cornelis Roelof Rossum, born in 1821 and died in 1898. He made significant contributions to the development of economic thought and advocated for social reforms.
In more recent times, the Dutch computer scientist Guido van Rossum, born in 1956, is known as the creator of the widely-used Python programming language, which has had a significant impact on the field of computer science and software development.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rossum
Among Census respondents with the surname Rossum, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rossum 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 Rossum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.8% · 144
- Black or African American42.9% · 124
- Two or more races5.9% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rossum
Rossum 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
#69,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 280
+7 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 2,474 places
2020
#72,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 289
+9 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 2,477 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #67,522 | 273 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #69,996 | 280 | 0.09 | +7 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 2,474 places |
| 2020 | #72,473 | 289 | 0.10 | +9 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 2,477 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 Rossum 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 | #69,996 | #72,473 | -3.5% |
| Count | 280 | 289 | 3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.10 | 7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rossum bearers went from 280 to 289 (+3.2% change). The surname moved down 2,477 positions in the national ranking, going from #69,996 to #72,473.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rossum
FAQ
Rossum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rossum?
Name Census estimates that about 331 living Americans carry the surname Rossum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,035,512 residents.
How common is Rossum?
Rossum ranks #72,473 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 289 people with the surname Rossum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (331), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rossum.
Has Rossum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rossum went from 280 recorded bearers to 289. That is an increase of 9 (+3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #69,996 to #72,473.
What does the Census say about the background of Rossum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rossum, the largest self-reported group is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Rossum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.8% (144 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rossum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (49.8%), Black (42.9%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Rossum (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 Rossum mean?
A variant spelling of the German surname Rossmann, referring to a horse breeder or dealer. 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 Rossum (0.10 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 Rossum?
Find out how many people have the last name Rossum on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.