2000
#14,137
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,952
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Ratner
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German word "Ratner," meaning a town councilor or advisor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,269 Americans carry the last name Ratner. That puts it at #14,497 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,060 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ratner 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
2.3K
1 in 151,060
Census rank
#14,497
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,979 bearers of the surname Ratner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14497th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ratner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ratner
The surname Ratner is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "ratgeben," which means "to advise" or "to counsel." The name first appeared in the 13th century in the regions of Saxony and Bavaria, where it was likely an occupational name for a town advisor or counselor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a "Johannes Ratner" is mentioned in a document dated 1297. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, variations of the name, such as "Ratgeber" and "Rathenau," began to appear in various records across Germany. These variations further reinforce the connection to the Middle High German word "ratgeben."
During the 16th century, the name spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England, as a result of migration and trade. One notable bearer of the name was Willem Ratner, a Dutch merchant born in 1542, who established a successful trading company in Amsterdam.
In the 17th century, the surname Ratner is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This indicates that the name had already made its way to England by that time.
Other notable bearers of the surname Ratner throughout history include:
1. Johann Georg Ratner (1654-1720), a German composer and organist.
2. Gottfried Ratner (1692-1762), a German theologian and philosopher.
3. Erich Ratner (1808-1879), a German politician and lawyer.
4. Samuel Ratner (1853-1926), a Polish-born American industrialist and philanthropist.
5. Grigori Ratner (1885-1960), a Russian-born American composer and music educator.
The surname Ratner has also been associated with various place names, such as Ratnersdorf in Saxony, Germany, and Ratnersgrun in the Czech Republic, both of which likely derived from individuals bearing the name who settled in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ratner
Among Census respondents with the surname Ratner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ratner 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 Ratner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,845
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 57
- Two or more races2.4% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ratner
Ratner 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
#13,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,266
+314 bearers (+16.1%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 697 places
2020
#14,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,979
-287 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 1,057 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,137 | 1,952 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,440 | 2,266 | 0.77 | +314 bearers (+16.1%) | Up 697 places |
| 2020 | #14,497 | 1,979 | 0.66 | -287 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 1,057 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 Ratner 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 | #13,440 | #14,497 | -7.9% |
| Count | 2,266 | 1,979 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.66 | -14.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ratner bearers went from 2,266 to 1,979 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 1,057 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,440 to #14,497.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ratner
FAQ
Ratner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ratner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,269 living Americans carry the surname Ratner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,060 residents.
How common is Ratner?
Ratner ranks #14,497 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,979 people with the surname Ratner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,269), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Ratner.
Has Ratner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ratner went from 2,266 recorded bearers to 1,979. That is a decrease of 287 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,440 to #14,497.
What does the Census say about the background of Ratner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ratner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Ratner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,845 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ratner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Ratner (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 Ratner mean?
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German word "Ratner," meaning a town councilor or advisor. 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 Ratner (0.66 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 Ratner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.