2000
#4,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,875
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.55
Rare Last name
Rosenberger
An occupational surname referring to someone living near or working at a rose hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,303 Americans carry the last name Rosenberger. That puts it at #5,283 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,933 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosenberger 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
7.3K
1 in 46,933
Census rank
#5,283
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,369 bearers of the surname Rosenberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5283rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosenberger
The surname Rosenberger originated in Germany, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the German words "Rosen" meaning "rose" and "Berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill," indicating that the name likely referred to a person who lived near a rose garden or a rose-covered hill.
Rosenberger is a locational surname, meaning it was originally given to someone who lived in a particular place, in this case, a place called Rosenberg or a similar variation. Some of the earliest recorded spellings include Rosenberger, Rosenbergere, and Rosenbergare.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the 12th century, where a certain "Theodoricus de Rosenberge" is mentioned in 1195.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Heinrich von Rosenberg was a prominent figure in the Holy Roman Empire, serving as a diplomat and military commander. He was born around 1220 and died in 1292.
Another notable Rosenberger was Johannes Rosenberger, a German theologian and reformer who lived in the 15th century. He was born in 1432 and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
During the 16th century, the Rosenberger family was influential in the region of Franconia, located in modern-day Bavaria, Germany. One member, Hans Rosenberger, was a respected artist and woodcarver who created intricate altarpieces and sculptures for churches in the area.
In the 17th century, a Rosenberger named Anna Maria Rosenberger gained notoriety as a skilled herbalist and midwife in the town of Nürnberg (Nuremberg). Her knowledge of medicinal plants and natural remedies was widely sought after.
As the Rosenberger family spread throughout Germany and beyond, the name evolved to include variations such as Rosenberg, Rosenberger, Rosenberger, and Rosenbergere. These spellings reflected regional and linguistic differences but shared the common roots of the rose and the mountain or hill.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosenberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosenberger 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 Rosenberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 5,934
- Two or more races3.0% · 192
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 161
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 44
- Black or African American0.3% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosenberger
Rosenberger 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
#4,874
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,228
+353 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.45
Rank movement Down 158 places
2020
#5,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,369
-859 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 2.13
Rank movement Down 409 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,716 | 6,875 | 2.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,874 | 7,228 | 2.45 | +353 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 158 places |
| 2020 | #5,283 | 6,369 | 2.13 | -859 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 409 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 Rosenberger 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 | #4,874 | #5,283 | -8.4% |
| Count | 7,228 | 6,369 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.45 | 2.13 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosenberger bearers went from 7,228 to 6,369 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 409 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,874 to #5,283.
FAQ
Rosenberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosenberger?
Name Census estimates that about 7,303 living Americans carry the surname Rosenberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,933 residents.
How common is Rosenberger?
Rosenberger ranks #5,283 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,369 people with the surname Rosenberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,303), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rosenberger.
Has Rosenberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosenberger went from 7,228 recorded bearers to 6,369. That is a decrease of 859 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,874 to #5,283.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosenberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Rosenberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (5,934 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosenberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Rosenberger (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 Rosenberger mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone living near or working at a rose hill or mountain. 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 Rosenberger (2.13 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 share the surname Rosenberger?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.