2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ragster
A dialectal form of the surname Radster, which referred to a path maker or roadman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Ragster. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ragster 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.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Ragster in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragster, the largest self-reported group is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ragster
The surname "Ragster" is of English origin, originating in the early 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "ræg," meaning "rag" or "tatter," and the suffix "-ster," which was commonly used to denote an occupation or trade. This suggests that the name "Ragster" may have been initially given to someone who dealt with rags or worked in the textile industry, such as a rag merchant or a recycler of cloth scraps.
One of the earliest known records of the name "Ragster" can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "Raggestere." This document was a survey of landowners in England, ordered by King Edward I. The mention of the name in this historical record indicates that the family was already well-established in England by the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the surname appears in various spellings, such as "Raggester," "Raggister," and "Raggster," in various records across different regions of England. One notable mention is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, where a John Raggester is listed as a taxpayer.
The earliest known record of the name "Ragster" in its current spelling dates back to the late 15th century. In the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1494, a William Ragster is recorded as a resident of Oxfordshire.
Throughout the centuries, the Ragster surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Robert Ragster (c. 1450-1520), a prosperous merchant from London who was involved in the wool trade. Another prominent figure was Elizabeth Ragster (1612-1683), a Puritan writer and poet from Essex, known for her religious works and her advocacy for women's education.
In the 18th century, John Ragster (1720-1802) was a renowned clockmaker from Yorkshire, whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the wealthy elite of the time. Later, in the 19th century, Henry Ragster (1842-1911) was a prominent industrialist from Manchester, known for his innovative textile manufacturing techniques.
Another notable bearer of the Ragster name was Sir William Ragster (1875-1954), a British diplomat and statesman who served as the Governor of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1920 to 1925.
While the surname "Ragster" may have originated from a humble occupation, it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, spanning across different regions of England and even beyond, leaving an indelible mark on the annals of British history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ragster
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragster, the largest self-reported group is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Ragster 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 Ragster surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.4% · 95
- Two or more races7.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4
- White2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ragster
Ragster appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 3,182 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 Ragster 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 | #152,628 | #149,446 | 2.1% |
| Count | 107 | 110 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ragster bearers went from 107 to 110 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 3,182 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #149,446.
FAQ
Ragster surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ragster?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Ragster. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Ragster?
Ragster ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Ragster. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Ragster.
Has Ragster become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ragster went from 107 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Ragster?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragster, the largest self-reported group is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ragster in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ragster appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (86.4%), Two or More Races (7.3%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Ragster (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 Ragster mean?
A dialectal form of the surname Radster, which referred to a path maker or roadman. 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 Ragster (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Ragster?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.