2000
#2,743
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,076
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.48
Uncommon Last name
Ralston
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "town at the lands of Ralph."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,280 Americans carry the last name Ralston. That puts it at #3,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,810 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ralston 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 Ralston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 25,810
Census rank
#3,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,581 bearers of the surname Ralston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ralston, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ralston
The surname Ralston has its origins in Scotland, where it first appeared in the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old English words "rad," meaning red, and "tun," meaning town or settlement, indicating that the original bearers of the name likely hailed from a town or village with reddish soil.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ralston name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage pledges made to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobility and landowners. The entry "Johannes de Ralstoun" suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 13th century.
Throughout the medieval period, the Ralston family held lands in Renfrewshire, Scotland, and the name is often associated with the village of Ralston, located near Paisley. The earliest known ancestor was Sir John de Ralston, who lived in the 13th century and was a prominent landowner and knight.
In the 16th century, the Ralstons played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation, with several members of the family becoming prominent Protestants. One notable figure was William Ralston (1526-1578), a minister and reformer who was a close associate of John Knox.
Another notable Ralston was Robert Ralston (1761-1836), a Scottish-born merchant and philanthropist who established the Ralston Family Trust to support education and charitable causes. He was also a member of the Council of the City of Philadelphia and a prominent figure in the early history of the United States.
In the 19th century, the name gained recognition through the works of William Ralston Shedden-Ralston (1828-1889), a British scholar and orientalist who wrote extensively on the folklore and literature of Russia and Central Asia. He is considered a pioneer in the field of Russian studies in the English-speaking world.
Other notable individuals bearing the Ralston surname include:
1. William Ralston (1828-1889), a Scottish-American banker and entrepreneur who played a crucial role in the development of San Francisco in the late 19th century.
2. Samuel Ralston (1756-1851), an American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the first principal of the Dickinson College Grammar School in Pennsylvania.
3. Archibald Ralston (1836-1915), a Scottish-born American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
4. Robert Ralston (1930-2019), an American actor best known for his role as a police officer in the film "Bullitt" (1968).
5. Erin Ralston (born 1979), an American professional golfer who has won multiple tournaments on the LPGA Tour.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ralston
Among Census respondents with the surname Ralston, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ralston 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 Ralston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 10,256
- Two or more races3.6% · 418
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 372
- Black or African American3.0% · 349
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 92
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ralston
Ralston 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
#2,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,302
+226 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 4.17
Rank movement Down 171 places
2020
#3,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,581
-721 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 3.87
Rank movement Down 114 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,743 | 12,076 | 4.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,914 | 12,302 | 4.17 | +226 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 171 places |
| 2020 | #3,028 | 11,581 | 3.87 | -721 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 114 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 Ralston 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 | #2,914 | #3,028 | -3.9% |
| Count | 12,302 | 11,581 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 4.17 | 3.87 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ralston bearers went from 12,302 to 11,581 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 114 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,914 to #3,028.
FAQ
Ralston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ralston?
Name Census estimates that about 13,280 living Americans carry the surname Ralston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,810 residents.
How common is Ralston?
Ralston ranks #3,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.87 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 11,581 people with the surname Ralston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,280), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.87 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 Ralston.
Has Ralston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ralston went from 12,302 recorded bearers to 11,581. That is a decrease of 721 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,914 to #3,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Ralston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ralston, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Ralston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (10,256 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ralston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Ralston (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 Ralston mean?
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "town at the lands of Ralph." 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 Ralston (3.87 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 Ralston?
Want to know how many people are called Ralston? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.