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

Rotaru, 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 Rotaru surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rotaru in America

Rotaru is the 95955th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rotaru surname appeared 190 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rotaru.

The history of the last name Rotaru

The surname Rotaru has its origins in Romania, tracing back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Romanian word "rotar," which means "wheelwright" or "cartwright," referring to someone who builds or repairs wheels for carts and carriages. This occupational surname was likely given to individuals who worked as wheelwrights or cartwrights.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Rotaru can be found in the 1592 census records of the town of Sibiu, located in present-day Transylvania, Romania. In these records, a person named Ion Rotaru is listed as a resident of the town, indicating the presence of this surname in the region at that time.

Throughout the centuries, the Rotaru surname has been associated with various notable individuals. One of the earliest mentions is that of Mihai Rotaru, a prominent merchant and landowner who lived in the late 17th century in the region of Moldavia, which is now part of modern-day Romania and Moldova.

In the 18th century, Gheorghe Rotaru, a respected scholar and historian, was born in 1725 in the town of Iași, Moldavia. He made significant contributions to the preservation of historical records and manuscripts from that period.

During the 19th century, Vasile Rotaru (1820-1879) was a prominent Romanian politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Justice and played a crucial role in the unification of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which later became the Kingdom of Romania.

Another notable figure with the Rotaru surname was Dumitru Rotaru (1888-1957), a renowned Romanian painter and art educator. His works, particularly his landscapes and portraits, are highly regarded and can be found in various museums and private collections across Romania.

More recently, in the 20th century, Alexandru Rotaru (1918-1995) was a celebrated Romanian writer and journalist. He is best known for his novels and short stories that explored the lives and struggles of rural communities in Romania during the mid-20th century.

While the surname Rotaru has its roots in Romania, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the historical records and notable individuals mentioned above highlight the rich heritage and significance of this surname within Romanian culture and history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rotaru

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

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 Rotaru 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.

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 Rotaru was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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