Explore the Family Name Ritt

The meaning of Ritt

German: 1. topographic name from Old High German ritta ‘reeds’ or a habitational name from a place so named near Kassel. 2. variant of Ried 2. 3. from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name based on rīd ‘ride’. Some characteristic forenames: German Franz, Otto.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Ritt saw a decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 28,460, whereas in 2010, it dropped to rank 32,834, a decline by 15.37%. The count of individuals bearing this surname also decreased from 789 in 2000 to 699 in 2010, marking an 11.41% reduction. The proportion per 100,000 people dipped from 0.29 in 2000 to 0.24 in 2010, a 17.24% decrease.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#28,460	#32,834	-15.37%
Count	789	699	-11.41%
Proportion per 100k	0.29	0.24	-17.24%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ritt

In terms of ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010. The number of Asians or Pacific Islanders with the Ritt surname increased significantly from 0.63% to 1.29%, a growth of 104.76%. There was a notable decrease in the percentage of those identifying as two or more races, from 2.03% to 1.00%, a fall of 50.74%. Meanwhile, the percentage of Whites fell marginally from 96.83% to 95.85%, a drop of just 1.01%. Interestingly, there were no individuals identified as Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2000. However, by 2010, the Hispanic population had grown to represent 1.14% of those with the Ritt surname. The percentages for Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native remained unchanged at 0%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.83%	95.85%	-1.01%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.63%	1.29%	104.76%
Hispanic	0%	1.14%	0%
Two or More Races	2.03%	1%	-50.74%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%