2000
#18,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,420
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Rupprecht
A German surname derived from the personal name Rudolf, meaning "wolf counsel."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,617 Americans carry the last name Rupprecht. That puts it at #19,236 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 211,969 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rupprecht 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
1.6K
1 in 211,969
Census rank
#19,236
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,410 bearers of the surname Rupprecht in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19236th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rupprecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rupprecht
The surname Rupprecht originates from Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic words "ruop" meaning "fame" and "reht" meaning "right" or "law". Thus, the name likely referred to someone who was renowned for their adherence to the law or their honorable reputation.
In the early 13th century, the name appeared in various medieval records across southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia. Some of the earliest documented instances include Ruprecht von Worms, a knight mentioned in the Codex Traditionum of the Worms monastery in 1223, and Ruprecht der Jüngere, a burgrave (noble lord) of Nuremberg who lived from 1347 to 1409.
The Rupprecht name has also been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the most prominent was Rupert (also known as Ruprecht) of the Palatinate, a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, who was born in 1352 and ruled from 1398 to 1410. Another was Ruprecht von Freising, a Bavarian chronicler and historian who lived from around 1285 to 1360 and authored the famous "Chronicon Bavaricum" (Bavarian Chronicle).
In the 15th century, the Rupprecht name appeared in several important manuscripts, such as the "Codex Palatinus Germanicus" (Palatine German Codex) from 1437, which contained various medieval German texts and poems. The name was also found in legal documents and court records from the time, indicating its continued use among the nobility and upper classes.
One notable bearer of the Rupprecht surname was Johann Rupprecht, a German philosopher and humanist who lived from 1488 to 1548 and was a professor at the University of Heidelberg. Another was Ruprecht Fröreisen, a 16th-century German jurist and legal scholar born in 1535.
As the centuries passed, the Rupprecht name spread throughout German-speaking regions and eventually found its way into other parts of Europe and beyond. While less common today, it remains a testament to the rich cultural and historical legacy of its Germanic roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rupprecht
Among Census respondents with the surname Rupprecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rupprecht 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 Rupprecht surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 1,293
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 56
- Two or more races3.7% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rupprecht
Rupprecht 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
#18,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,474
+54 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.50
Rank movement Down 559 places
2020
#19,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,410
-64 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 576 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,101 | 1,420 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,660 | 1,474 | 0.50 | +54 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 559 places |
| 2020 | #19,236 | 1,410 | 0.47 | -64 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 576 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 Rupprecht 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 | #18,660 | #19,236 | -3.1% |
| Count | 1,474 | 1,410 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.50 | 0.47 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rupprecht bearers went from 1,474 to 1,410 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 576 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,660 to #19,236.
FAQ
Rupprecht surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rupprecht?
Name Census estimates that about 1,617 living Americans carry the surname Rupprecht. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 211,969 residents.
How common is Rupprecht?
Rupprecht ranks #19,236 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.47 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 1,410 people with the surname Rupprecht. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,617), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.47 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 Rupprecht.
Has Rupprecht become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rupprecht went from 1,474 recorded bearers to 1,410. That is a decrease of 64 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,660 to #19,236.
What does the Census say about the background of Rupprecht?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rupprecht, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Rupprecht in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (1,293 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rupprecht appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Rupprecht (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 Rupprecht mean?
A German surname derived from the personal name Rudolf, meaning "wolf counsel." 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 Rupprecht (0.47 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 are called Rupprecht?
Find out how many people have the last name Rupprecht on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.