2000
#7,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,911
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.45
Rare Last name
Rost
An English and German topographic surname referring to someone living near a wooded hill or ridge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,017 Americans carry the last name Rost. That puts it at #8,963 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,326 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rost 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
4.0K
1 in 85,326
Census rank
#8,963
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,503 bearers of the surname Rost in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8963rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rost, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rost
The surname ROST has its origins in Germany and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old High German word "rost," which means "rust" or "ruddy," likely referring to someone with reddish-colored hair or complexion. The name may also be related to the German word "Roste," meaning "iron grating" or "grill," suggesting a possible occupational origin for those involved in metalwork or blacksmithing.
The earliest recorded instances of the ROST surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. Some of the earliest recorded bearers of the name include Henricus Rust, mentioned in the records of Augsburg in 1285, and Johannes Rost, documented in the town of Bochum in 1312.
The ROST name has been found in various historical records and manuscripts throughout the centuries. For example, it appears in the Würzburg Census of 1497, and there are mentions of individuals with the surname in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493.
Historically, several notable individuals have borne the ROST surname. One of the earliest was Johann Rost (1532-1588), a German theologian and mathematician who served as a professor at the University of Heidelberg. Another prominent figure was Reinhold Rost (1822-1896), a German-born British Orientalist and scholar of Sanskrit and Pali languages.
Other notable bearers of the ROST name include:
1. Pieter Cornelis Rost van Tonningen (1732-1811), a Dutch naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1801 to 1805.
2. Christian Gottlob Rost (1786-1858), a German philologist and lexicographer renowned for his work on the Sanskrit language and literature.
3. Ernst Rost (1827-1896), a German theologian and historian who served as a professor at the University of Marburg and authored several works on the history of the Reformation.
4. Paul Rost (1870-1938), a German botanist and mycologist known for his contributions to the study of fungi and plant pathology.
5. Nico Rost (born 1972), a German professional football player who played as a defender for various clubs in the Bundesliga, the top division of German football.
The ROST surname has been found in various places throughout Germany and other parts of Europe, and it has also been carried to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. While the name has evolved and adapted over time, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in the heart of Germanic territories.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rost
Among Census respondents with the surname Rost, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rost 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 Rost surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 3,197
- Two or more races3.6% · 127
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 37
- Black or African American0.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rost
Rost 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
#8,439
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,913
+2 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 588 places
2020
#8,963
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,503
-410 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 524 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,851 | 3,911 | 1.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,439 | 3,913 | 1.33 | +2 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 588 places |
| 2020 | #8,963 | 3,503 | 1.17 | -410 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 524 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 Rost 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 | #8,439 | #8,963 | -6.2% |
| Count | 3,913 | 3,503 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.17 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rost bearers went from 3,913 to 3,503 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 524 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,439 to #8,963.
FAQ
Rost surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rost?
Name Census estimates that about 4,017 living Americans carry the surname Rost. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,326 residents.
How common is Rost?
Rost ranks #8,963 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 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 3,503 people with the surname Rost. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,017), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 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 Rost.
Has Rost become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rost went from 3,913 recorded bearers to 3,503. That is a decrease of 410 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,439 to #8,963.
What does the Census say about the background of Rost?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rost, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Rost in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (3,197 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rost appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Rost (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 Rost mean?
An English and German topographic surname referring to someone living near a wooded hill or ridge. 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 Rost (1.17 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 Rost?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.