Given name & surname
Ritter
“a knight”
Ritter is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a knight.”
Original GermanRytter
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a knight.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1997. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ritter through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 122
- 122 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −73%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 8 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 17 in 2016. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 188 as a first name in 2020; 31,649 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.
Ritter’s family of names
In German usage, Ritter as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with REITER. Ritter has a related form in Ritt. Ritter has a related form in Rytt.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
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 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Ritter, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ebben
Ebben is a surname from German.
>99% boys
Ripp
“powerful” · “bright, famous”
>99% boys
Schaefer
Schaefer is a surname from German, ultimately from Old High German.
>99% boys
Messer
“knife”
>99% boys
Kahlo
Kahlo is a surname from German.
91% boys · 9% girls
Beckman
Beckman is a surname from German.
>99% boys
Matheis
Matheis is a surname from German.
>99% boys
Kail
“a mighty warrior”
>99% boys