2000
#4,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,561
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.80
Rare Last name
Ramsay
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place name meaning "wild garlic island" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,536 Americans carry the last name Ramsay. That puts it at #4,138 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,943 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ramsay 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 Ramsay with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.5K
1 in 35,943
Census rank
#4,138
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,316 bearers of the surname Ramsay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4138th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramsay, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ramsay
The surname Ramsay is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English word "raumr" meaning a wild garlic or ramson plant. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a place where these plants grew abundantly.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ramsay dates back to the 12th century in the Scottish county of Midlothian. It is found in various medieval records, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which list several individuals bearing the name, such as William de Ramesye and Thomas de Ramesye.
The name Ramsay has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest and most prominent was Sir Alexander Ramsay (c. 1285-1342), a Scottish knight and military commander who played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence under King Robert the Bruce.
Another influential bearer of the Ramsay surname was Allan Ramsay (1686-1758), a renowned Scottish poet and playwright who was a leading figure in the 18th-century literary revival in Scotland. He was also the first to establish a circulating library in Edinburgh.
In more recent times, the name has been carried by notable individuals such as David Ramsay (1749-1815), an American historian and patriot during the American Revolutionary War, and Sir William Ramsay (1852-1916), a Scottish chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 for his discovery of noble gases.
The name Ramsay has also been associated with various place names, such as Ramsay in the Scottish Borders, Ramsay in Huntingdonshire, England, and the village of Ramsey in Cambridgeshire, England, which was formerly known as Ramesye or Rameseye.
While the surname has its roots in Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Scottish migration and settlement. Today, the name Ramsay can be found in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramsay
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramsay, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ramsay 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 Ramsay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.9% · 6,063
- Black or African American18.3% · 1,520
- Two or more races3.9% · 323
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 303
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ramsay
Ramsay 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
#4,380
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,120
+559 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 33 places
2020
#4,138
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,316
+196 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 2.78
Rank movement Up 242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,347 | 7,561 | 2.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,380 | 8,120 | 2.75 | +559 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 33 places |
| 2020 | #4,138 | 8,316 | 2.78 | +196 bearers (+2.4%) | Up 242 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 Ramsay 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 | #4,380 | #4,138 | 5.5% |
| Count | 8,120 | 8,316 | 2.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.75 | 2.78 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ramsay bearers went from 8,120 to 8,316 (+2.4% change). The surname moved up 242 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,380 to #4,138.
FAQ
Ramsay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ramsay?
Name Census estimates that about 9,536 living Americans carry the surname Ramsay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,943 residents.
How common is Ramsay?
Ramsay ranks #4,138 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,316 people with the surname Ramsay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,536), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Ramsay.
Has Ramsay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ramsay went from 8,120 recorded bearers to 8,316. That is an increase of 196 (+2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,380 to #4,138.
What does the Census say about the background of Ramsay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramsay, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Ramsay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (6,063 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ramsay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.9%), Black (18.3%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Ramsay (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 Ramsay mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from a place name meaning "wild garlic island" in Old English. 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 Ramsay (2.78 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 Ramsay?
You can see how common the surname Ramsay is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.