Explore the Family Name Rater

The meaning of Rater

German: 1. occupational name meaning ‘counselor’, from an agent derivative of Middle High German rāt, modern German Rat ‘counsel’. 2. from a personal name based on ancient Germanic rād, rāt ‘advice, counsel’. 3. habitational name for someone from any of the places called Rath or Rathen.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Rater in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Rater has seen a significant decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 50,178 in popularity, with 392 individuals carrying the name. However, by 2010, the rank had dropped to 63,373 and the count of individuals with this surname also fell to 315, marking a decrease of approximately 19.64%. This change denotes a proportionate decline from 0.15 to 0.11 per 100,000 people.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#50,178	#63,373	-26.3%
Count	392	315	-19.64%
Proportion per 100k	0.15	0.11	-26.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rater

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Rater is predominantly White, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, about 95.92% of those with this surname identified as White, which slightly increased to 96.19% by 2010. Those identifying as Hispanic accounted for around 3.06% in 2000, but this percentage decreased to 1.90% in 2010. Interestingly, there was an emergence of Black ethnicity associated with the surname, from 0% in 2000 to 1.59% in 2010. The census data did not record any individuals with the surname Rater identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native during these years, and there was also no record of individuals identifying with two or more races.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.92%	96.19%	0.28%
Hispanic	3.06%	1.9%	-37.91%
Black	0%	1.59%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%