2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Raida
A surname potentially derived from the Arabic word for "traveler" or "wanderer".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Raida. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Raida 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Raida in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Raida, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Raida
The surname RAIDA originates from Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "reida," which meant "to clear land" or "to prepare for cultivation." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name were likely farmers or land workers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the RAIDA surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the 12th century. In this document, a man named Heinricus Raida is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1178.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the Niederrheinisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of records from the Lower Rhine region of Germany. Here, a person named Conradus Raida is listed as a landowner in the town of Köln (Cologne) in the year 1273.
During the 15th century, the RAIDA surname can be found in the Würzburger Urkundenbuch, a compilation of records from the city of Würzburg in Bavaria. In this document, a man named Hans Raida is mentioned as a member of the local guilds in the year 1487.
One notable person with the RAIDA surname was Johann Raida, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1677 to 1756. He is known for his religious artwork and portraits, many of which can be found in churches and museums throughout Germany.
Another historical figure was Friedrich Raida, a German philosopher and educator who lived from 1815 to 1892. He wrote several books on the philosophy of education and was a professor at the University of Leipzig.
In the 19th century, the RAIDA surname can be found in records from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. One such record mentions a man named Josef Raida, who was born in 1832 in the town of Brno, which is now part of the Czech Republic.
The surname RAIDA has also spread to other parts of Europe and beyond. For example, in the 20th century, there was a Polish writer named Wacław Raida, who was born in 1909 and is known for his novels and short stories.
Overall, the RAIDA surname has a rich history spanning several centuries and can be traced back to its origins in medieval Germany, where it was likely associated with agricultural and land-related occupations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raida
Among Census respondents with the surname Raida, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Raida 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 Raida surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Raida
Raida 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+11 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,453 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-6 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,453 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 1,453 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 7,453 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 Raida 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 | #138,304 | #145,757 | -5.4% |
| Count | 121 | 115 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Raida bearers went from 121 to 115 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 7,453 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #145,757.
FAQ
Raida surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Raida?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Raida. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Raida?
Raida ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Raida. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Raida.
Has Raida become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Raida went from 121 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Raida?
Among Census respondents with the surname Raida, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Raida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Raida appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.7%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Raida (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 Raida mean?
A surname potentially derived from the Arabic word for "traveler" or "wanderer". 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 Raida (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 people have the last name Raida?
Find out how many people are called Raida on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.