2000
#14,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,971
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Rotter
A German and Jewish surname referring to someone who clears woodland, or a topographic name for a dweller by a thicket.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,056 Americans carry the last name Rotter. That puts it at #15,680 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,709 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rotter 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 Rotter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 166,709
Census rank
#15,680
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,793 bearers of the surname Rotter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15680th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rotter
The surname Rotter is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the Middle High German word "rotær," which translates to "a person who clears land or clears away obstructions." This occupational surname was likely given to those who worked as land clearers or foresters, contributing to the development of new settlements and agricultural lands.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rotter can be found in various German regional records and chronicles from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable early reference is in the Würzburg Codex, a collection of legal documents from the city of Würzburg, where a certain "Heinrich Rotter" is mentioned in an entry dated 1287.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a renowned illustrated world history published in 1493. Here, a "Hans Rotter" is listed among the citizens of the city of Nuremberg.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, including Rötter, Roetter, and Rödter. These variations often reflected regional linguistic differences and dialects.
Notable individuals with the surname Rotter include:
1. Johann Rotter (c. 1540-1617), a German theologian and author of several religious works.
2. Wilhelm Rotter (1801-1871), a German painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
3. Hans Rotter (1858-1926), a Swiss architect and urban planner who contributed to the design of several notable buildings in Zurich.
4. Juliane Rotter (1883-1964), a German novelist and children's book author.
5. Karl Rotter (1891-1968), an Austrian engineer and inventor, best known for his contributions to the development of the rotary engine.
As the centuries passed, the Rotter surname spread beyond German-speaking regions, carried by emigrants and settlers to various parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas and other continents.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rotter
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Rotter 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 Rotter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 1,638
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 83
- Two or more races2.1% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- Black or African American0.7% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rotter
Rotter 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
#14,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,121
+150 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 127 places
2020
#15,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,793
-328 bearers (-15.5%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,520 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,033 | 1,971 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,160 | 2,121 | 0.72 | +150 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 127 places |
| 2020 | #15,680 | 1,793 | 0.60 | -328 bearers (-15.5%) | Down 1,520 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 Rotter 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 | #14,160 | #15,680 | -10.7% |
| Count | 2,121 | 1,793 | -15.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.60 | -16.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rotter bearers went from 2,121 to 1,793 (-15.5% change). The surname moved down 1,520 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,160 to #15,680.
FAQ
Rotter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rotter?
Name Census estimates that about 2,056 living Americans carry the surname Rotter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,709 residents.
How common is Rotter?
Rotter ranks #15,680 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,793 people with the surname Rotter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,056), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Rotter.
Has Rotter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rotter went from 2,121 recorded bearers to 1,793. That is a decrease of 328 (-15.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,160 to #15,680.
What does the Census say about the background of Rotter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotter, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Rotter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (1,638 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rotter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (4.6%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Rotter (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 Rotter mean?
A German and Jewish surname referring to someone who clears woodland, or a topographic name for a dweller by a thicket. 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 Rotter (0.60 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 Rotter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.