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

Ragland, 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 Ragland surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ragland in America

Ragland is the 2815th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ragland surname appeared 12,816 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Ragland.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ragland 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 Ragland

The surname Ragland is of English origin and is thought to have originated in the 14th century. It is a locational name derived from a place called Ragland or Racland, which is believed to have been located in the county of Worcestershire.

The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "ræcc" meaning "rake" or "bar", and "land" meaning "land" or "territory". This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived on or near a piece of land that was marked or identified by a rake or bar.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which lists a Robert de Raggelond. This suggests that the name was already in use and established by the early 14th century.

In the 16th century, the name was also found in the parish records of Stourbridge, Worcestershire, where a John Ragland was recorded in 1560. This further reinforces the connection between the name and the Worcestershire region.

Over the centuries, the name has been spelled in various ways, including Raggelond, Raglande, Raglond, and Ragland. These variations likely reflect the different ways the name was pronounced and recorded by scribes and record keepers.

One notable bearer of the Ragland surname was Sir Richard Ragland (1540-1597), an English military commander who served under Queen Elizabeth I during the Anglo-Spanish War. He played a significant role in the English victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Another historical figure with the Ragland surname was Sir Thomas Ragland (1597-1679), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Worcestershire in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, John Ragland (1732-1786) was a notable American settler and pioneer who helped establish the community of Ragland's Station, which later became part of present-day Kentucky.

In the 19th century, James Ragland (1825-1899) was a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War and later became a prominent farmer and businessman in North Carolina.

One of the most famous bearers of the Ragland surname in modern times was Samuel Ragland (1923-2010), an American civil rights activist and educator who played a significant role in the desegregation of schools in Virginia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ragland

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!