2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Jorae
A contraction of the Hebrew name "Jorai", meaning "the Lord is my teacher".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Jorae. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jorae surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Jorae in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jorae, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jorae
The surname JORAE is believed to have originated in the Scandinavian region, likely in Denmark or Sweden, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "jór," meaning "horse," combined with the suffix "-ae," which was a common ending for surnames in that region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript that documents the settlement of Iceland. In this text, there is a reference to a person named Jorae Hallsson, who is said to have lived in the late 9th or early 10th century.
In the 12th century, a man named Jorae Eriksson is mentioned in the Gesta Danorum, a work of Danish history written by the scholar Saxo Grammaticus. This suggests that the name had spread from its Scandinavian origins to other parts of Northern Europe.
During the 13th century, the name JORAE appeared in several English records, indicating that individuals bearing this surname had likely migrated to Britain. One notable example is Jorae de Wynterton, who is documented in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1246.
In the 16th century, a Scottish family by the name of JORAE was recorded in the Burgh Records of Dundee, with one member named John JORAE being mentioned in 1547. This suggests that the name had also established a presence in Scotland by this time.
Over the centuries, several individuals with the surname JORAE have achieved notable status. For example, in the 17th century, there was a Dutch mathematician and astronomer named Petrus JORAE (1618-1679), who made significant contributions to the understanding of celestial mechanics.
Another notable JORAE was the Swedish explorer and naturalist Carl JORAE (1707-1778), who is credited with introducing the cultivation of potatoes to Sweden and Finland.
In the 19th century, a British artist named William JORAE (1817-1892) gained recognition for his landscape paintings, which often depicted scenes from the English countryside.
More recently, in the 20th century, the American author and journalist Dorothy JORAE (1902-1975) gained fame for her critically acclaimed novels and short stories, which often explored themes of social justice and human rights.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jorae
Among Census respondents with the surname Jorae, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jorae bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jorae surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 109
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jorae
Jorae appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+12 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,477 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 11,477 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jorae surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #157,234 | #145,757 | 7.3% |
| Count | 103 | 115 | 11.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 28.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jorae bearers went from 103 to 115 (+11.7% change). The surname moved up 11,477 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #145,757.
FAQ
Jorae surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jorae?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Jorae. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Jorae?
Jorae ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Jorae. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Jorae.
Has Jorae become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jorae went from 103 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 12 (+11.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Jorae?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jorae, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jorae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jorae appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jorae (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jorae mean?
A contraction of the Hebrew name "Jorai", meaning "the Lord is my teacher". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jorae (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Jorae?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Jorae at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.