Find out how popular the last name Rac is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rac.

Rac, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rac surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rac in America

Rac is the 98099th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rac surname appeared 185 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rac.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rac to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rac

The surname RAC has its origins in the Old French language and is derived from the word "raque", which referred to a breed of hunting dog. It is believed that this name was initially given as a nickname to people who had some association with this type of dog, perhaps as hunters or breeders.

The earliest recorded use of the surname RAC can be traced back to the 12th century in the region of Normandy, France. It is found in various medieval records and documents, including the Livre des Bourgeois, a register of the citizens of Rouen from the 13th century.

One notable historical figure bearing this name was Jehan Rac, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Caen, Normandy, in the late 14th century. His name appears in several property records and legal documents from that time.

As the surname spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Raque, Racque, and Racq. In England, where many Norman families settled after the Norman Conquest in 1066, the name was often anglicized to Rack or Rackham.

Another notable individual with this surname was Thomas Rack, an English churchman who lived in the 16th century. He served as the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry from 1556 to 1559, during the reign of Queen Mary I.

In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of John Rack, who was born in England around 1635 and later settled in Hingham, Massachusetts.

In the 18th century, a French military officer named Pierre Rac played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to General Rochambeau and participated in the Siege of Yorktown, which led to the surrender of the British forces in 1781.

Another notable figure with this surname was William Rac, a British architect who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in London, including the Old Vic Theatre and the Church of St. Dunstan-in-the-West.

The surname RAC has continued to be prevalent in various parts of the world, with notable individuals bearing this name across different fields, including literature, arts, and sciences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rac

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rac.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rac was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rac has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rac was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rac, please contact us.

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