2000
#1,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,763
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.44
Uncommon Last name
Rosen
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Middle High German word "rose," referring to a person who lived near a rose garden or sold roses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,016 Americans carry the last name Rosen. That puts it at #1,681 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosen 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 Rosen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,272
Census rank
#1,681
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,943 bearers of the surname Rosen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1681st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosen
The surname Rosen is of German origin, derived from the German word "Rose," which means a flower. This name likely originated as a descriptive name or as an occupational name for a person who cultivated roses or lived near a place where roses grew abundantly.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Rosen can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to the 14th century. A person named Hans Rosen was mentioned in a document from 1386.
In the 16th century, the name Rosen appeared in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Bavaria, Saxony, and Silesia. During this time, variations of the name such as Rößlein, Röschen, and Rosenfeld also emerged.
A notable early bearer of the name was Johann Rosen, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1532 to 1603. He was a follower of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Reformation movement.
The surname Rosen also found its way into other European countries, including the Netherlands and Poland. In the Netherlands, the name was sometimes spelled as Roosen or Roosjen, while in Poland, it took the form of Różański or Różycki.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Rosen was the German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), who is credited with developing infinitesimal calculus independently of Sir Isaac Newton.
Another notable figure was Nils Rosen (1859-1951), a Swedish chemist and inventor who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1912 for his work on the study of organic dyes and related catalytic processes.
In the United States, the surname Rosen gained prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly among Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. One prominent American with this name was David Rosen (1876-1962), a lawyer and politician who served as the United States Ambassador to Siam (now Thailand) from 1933 to 1941.
Other notable individuals with the surname Rosen include Milton Rosen (1915-1986), an American mathematician known for his contributions to game theory and mathematical economics, and Philip Rosen (1888-1951), an American film director and producer who worked in the early years of Hollywood.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosen
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosen 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 Rosen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 19,310
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 738
- Two or more races2.2% · 468
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 252
- Black or African American0.6% · 130
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosen
Rosen 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
#1,585
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,596
-167 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 7.66
Rank movement Down 144 places
2020
#1,681
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,943
-1,653 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 7.01
Rank movement Down 96 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,441 | 22,763 | 8.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,585 | 22,596 | 7.66 | -167 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 144 places |
| 2020 | #1,681 | 20,943 | 7.01 | -1,653 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 96 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 Rosen 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 | #1,585 | #1,681 | -6.1% |
| Count | 22,596 | 20,943 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 7.66 | 7.01 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosen bearers went from 22,596 to 20,943 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 96 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,585 to #1,681.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rosen
FAQ
Rosen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosen?
Name Census estimates that about 24,016 living Americans carry the surname Rosen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,272 residents.
How common is Rosen?
Rosen ranks #1,681 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,943 people with the surname Rosen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,016), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Rosen.
Has Rosen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosen went from 22,596 recorded bearers to 20,943. That is a decrease of 1,653 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,585 to #1,681.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rosen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (19,310 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rosen (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 Rosen mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Middle High German word "rose," referring to a person who lived near a rose garden or sold roses. 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 Rosen (7.01 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 common is the surname Rosen?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Rosen at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.