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

Rains, 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 Rains surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rains in America

Rains is the 3055th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rains surname appeared 11,737 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 Rains.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rains 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 Rains

The surname Rains is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "regn" meaning "rain" or "rainy". This surname first emerged in the early medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century, and was likely a descriptive name given to someone who lived in a particularly rainy area or was associated with rain in some way.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Rains can be traced back to the 13th century in various English records and chronicles. One notable example is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1230, which mentions a person named William Rains. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contains references to individuals with the surname Rains, such as John le Rains and Robert Rains.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, where a Thomas Rains is listed. The Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1334 for Warwickshire also record a Richard Rains. These early records suggest that the Rains surname was well-established in various parts of England by this time.

One of the earliest known instances of the name Rains in a place name context can be found in the village of Rainhill in Merseyside, formerly known as Rainshill or Raynhill in the 13th century. This place name likely derived from the Old English words "regn" and "hyll", meaning "rainy hill".

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Rains. One example is Thomas Rains (c. 1590-1670), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire during the English Civil War. Another prominent figure was John Rains (1670-1744), a British naval officer who served as a captain in the Royal Navy and was involved in several battles against the French and Spanish fleets.

Other individuals with the surname Rains include Sir Gabriel Rains (1803-1881), a British military engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of coastal defense systems and fortifications. James Rains (1833-1895) was an American Confederate officer during the American Civil War, serving as a brigadier general in the Army of Northern Virginia.

In more recent times, Clarence Rains (1888-1967) was an American actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows, including his notable role as Senator Fredric Munson in the classic movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rains

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

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

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

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