2000
#3,162
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,418
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.86
Uncommon Last name
Ragan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Reagáin," meaning "descendant of Reagán," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,249 Americans carry the last name Ragan. That puts it at #3,548 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,470 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ragan 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 Ragan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,470
Census rank
#3,548
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,810 bearers of the surname Ragan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3548th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ragan
The surname Ragan originated in Ireland and is believed to be a variant of the Gaelic name Ó Rabhartaigh, which means "descendant of Rabhartach". The name Rabhartach is derived from the Old Irish word "rabhart", meaning "great prosperity" or "great wealth".
The Ragan family is thought to have originated in County Donegal, Ireland, where they held lands and were considered a prominent sept (clan) of the region. The name is first recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where a man named Ruaidhri O'Rabhartaigh is mentioned in the year 1305. This suggests that the family had established themselves in County Donegal by the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, during the Plantation of Ulster, many members of the Ragan family were dispossessed of their lands and scattered throughout Ireland and beyond. This led to the spread of the name to other parts of the country and eventually to other parts of the world.
Notable individuals with the surname Ragan throughout history include:
1. Philip Ragan (1715-1795), an Irish-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
2. John H. Ragan (1818-1904), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.
3. William H. Ragan (1827-1909), an American judge and politician who served as the 16th Governor of Arkansas.
4. Henry S. Ragan (1853-1924), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Ragan-Nassor Company, a wholesale grocery business in Kansas City, Missouri.
5. John S. Ragan (1868-1945), an American lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, from 1923 to 1927.
While the surname Ragan has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ragan
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ragan 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 Ragan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 8,718
- Two or more races3.8% · 374
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 335
- Black or African American2.7% · 262
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 45
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ragan
Ragan 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
#3,258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,081
+663 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 3.76
Rank movement Down 96 places
2020
#3,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,810
-1,271 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 3.28
Rank movement Down 290 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,162 | 10,418 | 3.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,258 | 11,081 | 3.76 | +663 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 96 places |
| 2020 | #3,548 | 9,810 | 3.28 | -1,271 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 290 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 Ragan 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 | #3,258 | #3,548 | -8.9% |
| Count | 11,081 | 9,810 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.76 | 3.28 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ragan bearers went from 11,081 to 9,810 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 290 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,258 to #3,548.
FAQ
Ragan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ragan?
Name Census estimates that about 11,249 living Americans carry the surname Ragan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,470 residents.
How common is Ragan?
Ragan ranks #3,548 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,810 people with the surname Ragan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,249), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Ragan.
Has Ragan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ragan went from 11,081 recorded bearers to 9,810. That is a decrease of 1,271 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,258 to #3,548.
What does the Census say about the background of Ragan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Ragan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (8,718 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ragan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Ragan (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 Ragan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Reagáin," meaning "descendant of Reagán," a personal name of unknown meaning. 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 Ragan (3.28 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 Ragan?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Ragan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.