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

Ragins, 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 Ragins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ragins in America

Ragins is the 54637th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ragins surname appeared 377 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 Ragins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ragins 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 Ragins

The surname RAGINS is believed to have originated in England, likely in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the name Raggins, which was derived from the Old English word "ragge," meaning "rag" or "tattered garment."

The earliest recorded instance of the name RAGINS appears in parish records from the village of Wigston Magna, Leicestershire, in 1612, where a Thomas Ragins is mentioned as a local landowner. Another early reference to the name can be found in the court records of the town of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, dating back to 1628, where a William Ragins is listed as a witness in a legal dispute.

The name RAGINS may also have originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who wore ragged or tattered clothing, perhaps as a way to distinguish them from others in their community. In some cases, such descriptive surnames were given to individuals who had fallen on hard times or lived in poverty.

One notable historical figure with the surname RAGINS was John Ragins (1676-1741), a prominent merchant and shipowner from the port city of Bristol, England. His successful trading ventures with the American colonies and the West Indies contributed greatly to the city's economic growth during the early 18th century.

Another individual of note was Mary Ragins (1802-1878), an English novelist and poet who published several works under the pen name "Constance Neville." Her most famous novel, "The Cottage by the Stream," was widely read and acclaimed during the Victorian era.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the RAGINS surname was Samuel Ragins (1790-1867), a farmer and landowner from Pennsylvania. His descendants can be traced through census records and local histories throughout the 19th century.

Another notable American with the RAGINS surname was William Ragins (1817-1898), a lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1876 to 1890.

In more recent times, the name RAGINS has been associated with several accomplished individuals, such as the British actor and director James Ragins (1932-2012), and the American artist and sculptor Lillian Ragins (1923-2004), whose works are held in numerous museum collections.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ragins

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

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 Ragins 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 Ragins 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 Ragins was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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