2000
#11,595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,484
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Rothermel
A German surname derived from a place name meaning "red hill" or "red clay hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,539 Americans carry the last name Rothermel. That puts it at #13,216 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,996 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rothermel 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
2.5K
1 in 134,996
Census rank
#13,216
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,214 bearers of the surname Rothermel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13216th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rothermel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rothermel
The surname Rothermel is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old German words "rot" meaning "red" and "ermel" meaning "sleeve," likely referring to a distinctive red sleeve worn by an early bearer of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rothermel name can be found in the Bavarian town records from the 13th century, where a certain Henrich Rothermel is mentioned as a local landowner. The name also appears in various legal documents and property records from that era, indicating its establishment within the region.
As time passed, the Rothermel family spread to other parts of Germany, with some branches eventually migrating to other European countries and even the Americas. Notable individuals with the Rothermel surname include Johann Rothermel (1564-1623), a respected theologian and author from Nuremberg, and Friedrich Rothermel (1796-1869), a prominent painter from Bavaria who was renowned for his historical and religious works.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the Rothermel name was Johann Rothermel, born in 1710 in the Palatinate region of Germany, who later emigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. Another notable American with this surname was Peter F. Rothermel (1817-1895), a renowned historical painter from Pennsylvania, whose works included the famous "Battle of Gettysburg" and "De Soto Discovering the Mississippi."
Other historical figures bearing the Rothermel surname include Wilhelm Rothermel (1834-1907), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, and Rudolf Rothermel (1878-1950), a German military officer who served in both World Wars.
While the Rothermel name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the medieval German regions, where it likely originated as a descriptive surname referring to a distinctive article of clothing worn by an early bearer.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rothermel
Among Census respondents with the surname Rothermel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rothermel 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 Rothermel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 2,075
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 64
- Two or more races2.2% · 48
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rothermel
Rothermel 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
#12,850
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,396
-88 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 1,255 places
2020
#13,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,214
-182 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 366 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,595 | 2,484 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,850 | 2,396 | 0.81 | -88 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 1,255 places |
| 2020 | #13,216 | 2,214 | 0.74 | -182 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 366 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 Rothermel 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 | #12,850 | #13,216 | -2.8% |
| Count | 2,396 | 2,214 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.74 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rothermel bearers went from 2,396 to 2,214 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 366 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,850 to #13,216.
FAQ
Rothermel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rothermel?
Name Census estimates that about 2,539 living Americans carry the surname Rothermel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,996 residents.
How common is Rothermel?
Rothermel ranks #13,216 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,214 people with the surname Rothermel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,539), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Rothermel.
Has Rothermel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rothermel went from 2,396 recorded bearers to 2,214. That is a decrease of 182 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,850 to #13,216.
What does the Census say about the background of Rothermel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rothermel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) 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 Rothermel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (2,075 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rothermel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Hispanic (2.9%), 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 Rothermel (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 Rothermel mean?
A German surname derived from a place name meaning "red hill" or "red clay hill." 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 Rothermel (0.74 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 share the surname Rothermel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.