2000
#2,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,195
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.52
Uncommon Last name
Ragsdale
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "valley of the roe deer" or "valley of rags."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,601 Americans carry the last name Ragsdale. That puts it at #2,965 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,201 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ragsdale 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 Ragsdale with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 25,201
Census rank
#2,965
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,861 bearers of the surname Ragsdale in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2965th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragsdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ragsdale
The surname Ragsdale is of English origin, deriving from a placename in the county of Lancashire. It is believed to have emerged during the 13th century, initially taking the form of "Raggesdale" or "Raggesdeill", referring to a valley or dale associated with a person named Ragg or Ragge. These old English personal names were derived from the Norse word "raggr", meaning shaggy or unkempt.
Records from the 13th and 14th centuries indicate the name was concentrated in the areas around Clitheroe and Pendle Hill in Lancashire. One of the earliest known references is in the Subsidy Rolls of 1332, which mention a Adam de Raggesdeill residing in the village of Whalley.
By the 16th century, the spelling had evolved closer to its modern form, appearing in parish records as Ragsdale, Raggesdale, and Raggisdale. The earliest recorded birth of a Ragsdale was that of Robert Ragsdale in Clitheroe in 1586.
While the name was largely confined to Lancashire for several centuries, it gradually spread across England in the 17th and 18th centuries. Notable individuals bearing the surname during this time include William Ragsdale (1633-1711), a prominent merchant and landowner in Oxfordshire, and John Ragsdale (1675-1744), a renowned clockmaker from London.
As the British Empire expanded, the name also found its way to various colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances in North America was that of Thomas Ragsdale, who arrived in Virginia from England in 1635. Another notable early settler was Captain Edward Ragsdale (1624-1676), who served in the Virginia militia and was granted land in what is now Surry County.
Other notable individuals with the surname include Sir Michael Ragsdale (1728-1810), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and James Ragsdale (1838-1912), a Union Army veteran and lawyer who later became a judge in Arkansas.
Throughout its history, the surname Ragsdale has maintained a strong presence in both the United Kingdom and the United States, with various spellings and variations emerging over time, such as Ragsdale, Ragdale, and Ragsdill.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ragsdale
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragsdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Ragsdale 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 Ragsdale surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 8,934
- Black or African American14.3% · 1,702
- Two or more races4.6% · 540
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 468
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 161
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 56
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ragsdale
Ragsdale 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
#2,932
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,227
+32 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 4.15
Rank movement Down 224 places
2020
#2,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,861
-366 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 3.97
Rank movement Down 33 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,708 | 12,195 | 4.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,932 | 12,227 | 4.15 | +32 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 224 places |
| 2020 | #2,965 | 11,861 | 3.97 | -366 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 33 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 Ragsdale 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 | #2,932 | #2,965 | -1.1% |
| Count | 12,227 | 11,861 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.15 | 3.97 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ragsdale bearers went from 12,227 to 11,861 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 33 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,932 to #2,965.
FAQ
Ragsdale surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ragsdale?
Name Census estimates that about 13,601 living Americans carry the surname Ragsdale. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,201 residents.
How common is Ragsdale?
Ragsdale ranks #2,965 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,861 people with the surname Ragsdale. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,601), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Ragsdale.
Has Ragsdale become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ragsdale went from 12,227 recorded bearers to 11,861. That is a decrease of 366 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,932 to #2,965.
What does the Census say about the background of Ragsdale?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragsdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Ragsdale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (8,934 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ragsdale appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.3%), Black (14.3%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Ragsdale (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 Ragsdale mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "valley of the roe deer" or "valley of rags." 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 Ragsdale (3.97 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 many people are called Ragsdale?
You can see how many people are called Ragsdale on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.