Ralston
A masculine English surname transferred to a given name meaning "from Raleigh's town".
Name Census estimates that about 585 living Americans carry the first name Ralston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ralston today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ralston births was 1921 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ralston. 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.
People living today
585
~ 1 in 585,905 Americans
Peak year
1921
25 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,642
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Ralston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ralston from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ralston 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 Ralston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ralstons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ralston
The name Ralston has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 8th or 9th century AD. It is derived from the combination of two Old English words: "ræd" meaning "red" and "stan" meaning "stone." The name is believed to have initially been used as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a red stone or a place with a reddish stone.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ralston can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England completed in 1086 AD under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appeared as a place name, "Radestone," in the county of Derbyshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ralston. One of the earliest recorded was Ralston Calvert (1808-1846), an American politician who served as the 21st Governor of Maryland from 1835 to 1838.
Another prominent figure was Ralston Markoe (1819-1888), an American author and playwright who wrote several popular plays in the mid-19th century, including "The Veteran" and "The Buccaneer."
In the 20th century, Ralston Crawford (1906-1978) was an American artist and photographer known for his abstract paintings and precisionist style. His works are featured in many notable museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Ralston Purina, born William Holcombe Danforth (1869-1955), was an American businessman and founder of the Ralston Purina Company, a leading producer of pet food and animal feed products.
More recently, Ralston Hill (1944-2010) was a Canadian actor and director, best known for his roles in television series such as "The Littlest Hobo" and "The Beachcombers."
While the name Ralston has its roots in Old English, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions throughout history, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in fields ranging from politics and literature to art and business.
People
Ralston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ralston 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
Ralston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ralston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 585 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ralston 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 585,905 US residents.
Is Ralston a common name?
We classify Ralston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ralston most popular?
The single biggest year for Ralston was 1921, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ralston is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ralston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ralston in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.