The Rost surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,913 people carried this name — #8,439 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 75,200 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (3,911).
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Rost surname
First attested in 1416.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rost» (Czech), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 650 people named Rost 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.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
338 people named Rost have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 435 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 Silesian.
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 230 people named Rost.
21 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Haut-Rhin.
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
118 people named Rost live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 the Nordic population registers
543 people named Rost are counted in Sweden and Norway.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers.
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) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Rost in American newspapers,
1904–1919.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 182,142 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Rost,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Johann Leonhard Rost 1688–1727 · astronomer -
Nicolaus Rosthius 1542–1622 · composer
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Jan Rost 1600–1562 · entrepreneur
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Johann Jeremias Rost 1630–1672 · pharmacist
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Maurus Rost 1633–1706 · writer
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Franz Rost 1640–1696 · musician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 7 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rost.
- Rossignol 1,609 · U.S. census
- Rossin 497 · U.S. census
- Rossini 1,296 · U.S. census
- Rossler 333 · U.S. census
- Rosso 3,006 · U.S. census
- Rossy 489 · U.S. census
- Rostan 186 · U.S. census
- Rostas 119 · U.S. census
- Roszak 445 · U.S. census
- Rot 191 · U.S. census
- Rota 908 · U.S. census
- Rotella 2,037 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rost 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.