Given name & surname · also German
Reiter
“sieve”
Reiter is a surname from Middle High German, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic. It is used in German.
Original GermanReuther
Meaning & origin
What it means
Reiter goes back to Proto-West Germanic *hrīdrā, meaning “sieve.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Reiter comes from Middle High German, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Middle High German rītere, from Old High German rîtera, from Proto-West Germanic *hrīdrā (“sieve”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2011. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Reiter through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12
- 12 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2011
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2014. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 2011. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 10,203 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Reiter’s family of names
In German usage, Reiter as a surname shares a linguistic root with the English form RIDDLE. In German usage, Reiter as a surname has a related form in RAUTER. In German usage, Reiter as a surname has a related form in REITHER.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Reiter has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
8 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
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