2000
#5,490
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,827
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.16
Rare Last name
Ramires
A Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from the given name Ramiro, which has Germanic origins meaning "wise protector."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,111 Americans carry the last name Ramires. That puts it at #11,160 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ramires 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
3.1K
1 in 110,175
Census rank
#11,160
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,713 bearers of the surname Ramires in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11160th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramires, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ramires
The surname Ramires has its origins in Spain, where it emerged during the medieval period. It is believed to be a Spanish variant of the name Ramiro, derived from the Germanic elements "ragin" (meaning counsel) and "meri" (meaning famous). This name was popular among the Visigoths who ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula between the 5th and 8th centuries.
Ramires is thought to have been initially used as a patronymic surname, indicating that the bearer was the son or descendant of someone named Ramiro. The earliest known record of the name Ramires dates back to the 11th century, when it appeared in a document from the Kingdom of León.
In the 13th century, the name Ramires was mentioned in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, a collection of poems and songs written by King Alfonso X of Castile and León. One of these cantigas, or songs, was dedicated to a knight named Ramiro Ramires.
During the Reconquista, the period of Christian conquest of Moorish territories in the Iberian Peninsula, several individuals bearing the surname Ramires played significant roles. One notable figure was Alonso Ramires de Arellano, a military commander who fought against the Moors in the 13th century.
In the 15th century, a nobleman named Gonzalo Ramires de Villaescusa held the position of Lord of Villaescusa and served as a trustee for the royal family of Castile.
Another prominent individual with the surname Ramires was Alonso Ramires de Prado, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the 16th century. He was among the first Europeans to set foot in what is now Mexico City.
In the realm of literature, the Spanish playwright and poet Lope de Vega featured a character named Ramiro Ramires in one of his plays, "El Mayordomo de la Duquesa de Amalfi" (The Steward of the Duchess of Amalfi), written in the early 17th century.
Throughout its history, the surname Ramires has also been associated with various places in Spain, such as the town of Ramires in the province of Soria, and the village of Ramires de Burgos in the province of Burgos.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramires
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramires, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ramires 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 Ramires surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.8% · 2,571
- White3.9% · 105
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- Two or more races0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ramires
Ramires 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
#5,466
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,362
+535 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Up 24 places
2020
#11,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,713
-3,649 bearers (-57.4%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 5,694 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,490 | 5,827 | 2.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,466 | 6,362 | 2.16 | +535 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 24 places |
| 2020 | #11,160 | 2,713 | 0.91 | -3,649 bearers (-57.4%) | Down 5,694 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 Ramires 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 | #5,466 | #11,160 | -104.2% |
| Count | 6,362 | 2,713 | -57.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.16 | 0.91 | -58.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ramires bearers went from 6,362 to 2,713 (-57.4% change). The surname moved down 5,694 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,466 to #11,160.
FAQ
Ramires surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ramires?
Name Census estimates that about 3,111 living Americans carry the surname Ramires. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,175 residents.
How common is Ramires?
Ramires ranks #11,160 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,713 people with the surname Ramires. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ramires.
Has Ramires become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ramires went from 6,362 recorded bearers to 2,713. That is a decrease of 3,649 (-57.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,466 to #11,160.
What does the Census say about the background of Ramires?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramires, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ramires in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (2,571 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ramires appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.8%), White (3.9%), Black (0.4%). 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 Ramires (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 Ramires mean?
A Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from the given name Ramiro, which has Germanic origins meaning "wise protector." 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 Ramires (0.91 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 common is the surname Ramires?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Ramires is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.