2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rotner
A German surname derived from the German word "rot", meaning red.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 162 Americans carry the last name Rotner. That puts it at #127,013 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,115,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rotner 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
162
1 in 2,115,768
Census rank
#127,013
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
141
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 141 bearers of the surname Rotner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 127013th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Black (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rotner
The surname Rotner originated in Germany during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "rot," meaning "red," and may have originally referred to someone with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion. Alternatively, it could have been a topographic name for someone who lived near a red or reddish-colored feature, such as a clay deposit or a structure built with red bricks or tiles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rotner can be found in the Würzburg census of 1397, which lists a Hans Rotner among the residents of the city. Another early mention is in the Rothenburger Bürgerbuch (Rothenburg Citizen Book) from 1432, which includes an entry for a certain Konrad Rotner.
In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread to other regions of Germany, as well as neighboring areas such as Switzerland and Austria. A notable bearer of the name during this time was Johann Rotner, a Lutheran pastor and theologian born in Nürnberg in 1518. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several theological works.
The Rotner surname can also be found in historical records from the German state of Baden-Württemberg, particularly in the town of Rottweil. This suggests a possible connection between the name and the place name Rottweil, which derives from the German words "rot" (red) and "wil" (meadow or pasture).
Another notable individual with the Rotner surname was Friedrich Rotner, a German architect and urban planner born in 1805 in Stuttgart. He was responsible for the design of several important buildings and urban development projects in Stuttgart and other cities in southern Germany.
Other historical figures bearing the Rotner name include:
1. Christoph Rotner (1582-1637), a German mathematician and astronomer from Nürnberg.
2. Johann Georg Rotner (1672-1738), a German composer and organist active in Leipzig and Dresden.
3. Maria Rotner (1822-1898), an Austrian novelist and poet from Vienna.
4. Karl Rotner (1874-1942), a German politician and member of the Reichstag from Württemberg.
5. Hans Rotner (1896-1975), a Swiss painter and graphic artist known for his landscape and figurative works.
While the Rotner surname may have originated in a specific region of Germany, it has since spread to various other parts of the world through migration and diaspora over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rotner
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Black (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rotner 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 Rotner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.7% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rotner
Rotner 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,164 places
2020
#127,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+28 bearers (+24.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 19,188 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 12,164 places |
| 2020 | #127,013 | 141 | 0.05 | +28 bearers (+24.8%) | Up 19,188 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 Rotner 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 | #146,201 | #127,013 | 13.1% |
| Count | 113 | 141 | 24.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 17.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rotner bearers went from 113 to 141 (+24.8% change). The surname moved up 19,188 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #127,013.
FAQ
Rotner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rotner?
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the surname Rotner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,115,768 residents.
How common is Rotner?
Rotner ranks #127,013 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 141 people with the surname Rotner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (162), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Rotner.
Has Rotner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rotner went from 113 recorded bearers to 141. That is an increase of 28 (+24.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #127,013.
What does the Census say about the background of Rotner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Rotner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (132 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rotner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (4.3%), Black (0.7%). 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 Rotner (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 Rotner mean?
A German surname derived from the German word "rot", meaning red. 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 Rotner (0.05 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 Americans have the surname Rotner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.