Explore the Family Name Rommel

The meaning of Rommel

1. North German and Dutch: nickname for an obstreperous person, from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch rummeln, rumpeln ‘to make noise’. 2. German: variant of Rummel 2. Some characteristic forenames: German Kurt, Fritz, Erwin, Gerhart, Hans.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Rommel has seen a slight decline from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 16,087 in the United States, and by 2010, it had slipped to rank 17,541, marking a decrease of approximately 9%. The number of individuals with this surname also dropped slightly during this period, from 1,655 to 1,604, a reduction of nearly 3%. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw a decrease, moving from 0.61 to 0.54.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#16,087	#17,541	-9.04%
Count	1,655	1,604	-3.08%
Proportion per 100k	0.61	0.54	-11.48%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rommel

Turning to the ethnic identity associated with the Rommel surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority identify as White. In both 2000 and 2010, over 94% of individuals with the Rommel surname identified as White. However, there were some notable shifts among other ethnic groups. The proportion of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander rose by about 23%, from 0.91% to 1.12%. Similarly, the percentage of Hispanics increased from 1.99% to 2.31%, a growth of approximately 16%. The share of people identifying with two or more races saw a slight decrease, from 1.69% to 1.56%. Data for those identifying as Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native was suppressed in 2010 for privacy reasons.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.38%	94.2%	-0.19%
Hispanic	1.99%	2.31%	16.08%
Two or More Races	1.69%	1.56%	-7.69%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.91%	1.12%	23.08%
Black	0.66%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.36%	0%	0%