The Reiter surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,802 people carried this name — #3,319 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 27,300 people counted. That is up 3% from 10,487 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Reiter surname
From Middle High German rītere, from Old High German rîtera, attested as glossing cribrum, from Proto-West Germanic *hrīdrā (“sieve”). Early New High German forms reyter, raiter, reuter.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Reiter» (German), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
595 people named Reiter have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 760 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Pomeranian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 490 people named Reiter.
50 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
303 people named Reiter live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 125 people named Reiter live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 41 people named Reiter live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Luxembourg Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
49 people named Reiter is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Reiter in American newspapers,
1894–1900.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
Who carried it
People named Reiter,
with a public archive behind them.
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Johann Baptist Reiter 1813–1890 · painter -
Johann Baptist Reiter 1813–1890 · painter
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Hermann Reiter d. 1916 · navy sailor
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Johann Jacob Reiter 1591–1623 · physician
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Josef Reiter 1750–1809 · hymnwriter
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Johann Evangelist Reiter 1764–1835 · architect
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Reiter.
- Reisch 935 · U.S. census
- Reiser 4,554 · U.S. census
- Reiss 7,334 · U.S. census
- Reisser 168 · U.S. census
- Reist 700 · U.S. census
- Reisz 439 · U.S. census
- Reith 1,864 · U.S. census
- Reitter 447 · U.S. census
- Reitz 7,604 · U.S. census
- Reitzer 119 · U.S. census
- Relle 122 · U.S. census
- Rello 147 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Reiter is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.