2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rotty
A surname likely derived from the German word "Rott" or "Rottbach", meaning a small stream or brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Rotty. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rotty 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Rotty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotty, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rotty
The surname Rotty is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in the areas of modern-day Germany and Switzerland. Its earliest documented instances can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 13th and 14th centuries.
The name Rotty is thought to be derived from the Old German word "rot," which means "red." It is likely that the name was initially given as a descriptive nickname to individuals with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion. Alternatively, it could have been associated with occupations related to the production or use of red dyes or pigments.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rotty can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Quedlinburgensis, a collection of medieval documents from the abbey of Quedlinburg in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions a person named "Konrad Rotty" in the year 1286.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various Swiss records, such as the Zurich Stadtbücher (city books), where a "Hans Rotty" was mentioned in 1357. During this period, variations of the name, such as "Rotti" and "Rotte," were also documented in various regions of Switzerland and Germany.
One notable figure with the surname Rotty was Johann Rotty, a Swiss theologian and reformer born in Zurich in 1494. He played a significant role in the Swiss Protestant Reformation and was a close associate of Ulrich Zwingli.
Another individual of historical significance was Caspar Rotty, a German artist and engraver born in Nuremberg in 1570. He was known for his intricate copperplate engravings, particularly those depicting historical and mythological scenes.
In the 16th century, the name Rotty was also found in England, where it may have been adopted by immigrants from the German-speaking regions. One example is William Rotty, a merchant and landowner in London, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1593.
During the 17th century, the name appeared in various parts of Europe, including the Netherlands, where a certain Pieter Rotty was a prominent painter and etcher born in Rotterdam in 1636.
In the 18th century, Johann Rotty, a German composer and organist, was born in Giessen in 1734. He is known for his contributions to church music and organ compositions.
The surname Rotty has persisted through the centuries, with various spellings and variations found in different regions and languages. While not a particularly common name, it remains a part of the diverse tapestry of surnames with roots in the German-speaking regions of Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rotty
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotty, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rotty 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 Rotty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rotty
Rotty appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,931 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Up 1,931 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 Rotty 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 | #144,270 | 1.3% |
| Count | 113 | 117 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rotty bearers went from 113 to 117 (+3.5% change). The surname moved up 1,931 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #144,270.
FAQ
Rotty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rotty?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Rotty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Rotty?
Rotty ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Rotty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Rotty.
Has Rotty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rotty went from 113 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 4 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Rotty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rotty, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Rotty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rotty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Rotty (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 Rotty mean?
A surname likely derived from the German word "Rott" or "Rottbach", meaning a small stream or brook. 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 Rotty (0.04 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 Rotty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.