Racine
A French feminine name derived from the French word for "root".
Name Census estimates that about 465 living Americans carry the first name Racine. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Racine today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Racine births was 1985 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Racine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Racine with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
465
~ 1 in 737,106 Americans
Peak year
1985
76 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2005 SSA rank
#12,897
Tracked since 1922
Census
Racine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 627 people with the first name Racine, which placed it at #17,540 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,540
National first-name rank
People counted
627
627 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Racine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Racine is Black at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Hispanic (9.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Racine described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Racine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.0% · 295
- White33.2% · 208
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 62
- Two or more races5.1% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 14
Gender
Gender distribution for Racine
Out of the 602 babies given the name Racine since 1880, 99.2% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Racine as a male name
- Ranked #12,897 in 2005
- 5 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (5 births)
Racine as a female name
- Ranked #18,507 in 2005
- 5 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1985 (76 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Racine leans strongly female. 514 people counted with this name were female (81.7%), compared with 115 male bearers (18.3%).
Popularity
Racine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Racine from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 183 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Racine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Racine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Racines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Georgia recorded the most babies named Racine, while Michigan, Texas, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Racine
The name Racine originates from the French language and is derived from the word 'racine' meaning 'root' or 'source'. This name has its origins in France and can be traced back to the 17th century. Its earliest known usage dates back to the French playwright and poet Jean Racine, who was born in 1639 and is considered one of the greatest tragedians of 17th-century France.
Racine was a popular name among French nobility and intellectuals during the 17th and 18th centuries. One notable figure with this name was Racine d'Ornano, a French statesman and soldier who served as the Marshal of France in the early 17th century. Another notable bearer of this name was Racine de Monville, a French lawyer and writer who lived during the 18th century.
In the 19th century, the name Racine gained popularity outside of France as well. One of the most famous individuals with this name was René Racine, a Belgian painter and etcher born in 1828. He is known for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting rural scenes and landscapes of Belgium.
Moving into the 20th century, the name Racine continued to be used across various parts of the world. One notable figure was Racine Colette, a French actress and singer born in 1906. She was best known for her performances in French films during the 1930s and 1940s.
Another notable bearer of this name was Racine Ames, an American painter and printmaker who lived from 1905 to 1999. She was known for her abstract and modernist works, and her art was exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States.
While the name Racine has its roots in French culture and language, it has since been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages around the world. However, its origins and historical significance remain closely tied to its French heritage and the notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Racine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Racine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Racine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Racine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 465 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Racine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 737,106 US residents.
Is Racine a common name?
We classify Racine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 602 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Racine most popular?
The single biggest year for Racine was 1985, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Racine is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Racine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 627 people with the name Racine, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,540 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Racine in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Racine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Racine leans strongly female. 514 people counted with this name were female (81.7%), compared with 115 male bearers (18.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Racine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Racine is Black at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Hispanic (9.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Racine most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Racine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (295 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Racine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Racine a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Racine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Racine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Racine in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Racine can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Racine?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.