2000
#6,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,055
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.87
Rare Last name
Radcliff
From a place called Radcliffe in England, likely derived from the Old English words "read" meaning red and "clif" meaning cliff.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,738 Americans carry the last name Radcliff. That puts it at #6,520 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,734 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Radcliff 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Radcliff with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.7K
1 in 59,734
Census rank
#6,520
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,004 bearers of the surname Radcliff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6520th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Radcliff, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Radcliff
The surname Radcliff has its origins in England, emerging during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the place name Radcliffe or Ratcliffe, which is found in several counties across England, including Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Buckinghamshire. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English words "rad" meaning "red" and "clif" meaning "cliff" or "slope," suggesting a connection to a red cliff or hillside.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 13th century. One notable early reference is found in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1273, which mentions a William de Radeclive. Another early record is from the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332, which includes the name Robertus de Radeclyve.
The Radcliff surname has been prominent throughout English history, with several notable individuals bearing this name. One of the earliest was Sir Ralph Radcliffe (c. 1335-1386), a knight and landowner from Lancashire who served as a Member of Parliament. Another prominent figure was Sir John Radcliffe (c. 1537-1568), a courtier and member of the Privy Council during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, John Radcliffe (1650-1714) was an influential English physician and founder of the Radcliffe Library and the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford. His contemporary, James Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (1689-1716), played a significant role in the Jacobite rising of 1715, leading rebel forces against the Hanoverian succession.
During the 18th century, Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) gained fame as a pioneering English author and a founding figure of the Gothic fiction genre, with novels such as "The Mysteries of Udolpho" and "The Italian." Another notable figure from this period was Sir Joseph Radcliffe (1744-1819), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the first Governor of St. Helena.
The Radcliff surname has also been associated with various place names and their historical spellings, such as Radcliffe Tower in Lancashire, formerly known as Radeclive or Radclyffe Tower, and the village of Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, which was recorded as Radeclive in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Radcliff
Among Census respondents with the surname Radcliff, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Radcliff 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 Radcliff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 3,889
- Black or African American13.5% · 677
- Two or more races3.9% · 193
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Radcliff
Radcliff appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,232
+177 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 1.77
Rank movement Down 257 places
2020
#6,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,004
-228 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,232 | 5,055 | 1.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,489 | 5,232 | 1.77 | +177 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 257 places |
| 2020 | #6,520 | 5,004 | 1.67 | -228 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 31 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 Radcliff 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 | #6,489 | #6,520 | -0.5% |
| Count | 5,232 | 5,004 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.77 | 1.67 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Radcliff bearers went from 5,232 to 5,004 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,489 to #6,520.
FAQ
Radcliff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Radcliff?
Name Census estimates that about 5,738 living Americans carry the surname Radcliff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,734 residents.
How common is Radcliff?
Radcliff ranks #6,520 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,004 people with the surname Radcliff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,738), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Radcliff.
Has Radcliff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Radcliff went from 5,232 recorded bearers to 5,004. That is a decrease of 228 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,489 to #6,520.
What does the Census say about the background of Radcliff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Radcliff, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Radcliff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (3,889 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Radcliff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.7%), Black (13.5%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Radcliff (2000, 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 Radcliff mean?
From a place called Radcliffe in England, likely derived from the Old English words "read" meaning red and "clif" meaning cliff. 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 Radcliff (1.67 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 Radcliff?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Radcliff at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.