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

Rand, 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 Rand surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rand in America

Rand is the 3433rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rand surname appeared 10,397 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 Rand.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rand 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 Rand

The surname RAND is of English origin, deriving from the Old English pre-7th century word "rand", meaning the outer edge or border of something. It likely originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near the boundary of a village or estate.

Another possible origin is the Old English word "rand", which referred to a raised strip of ground. In this case, the name may have been given to someone living on a ridge or hillside. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Rand".

In the 13th century, the surname is recorded as "Rande" in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. The variant spelling "Rande" also appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379. Over time, the spelling evolved to the modern form of "RAND".

Notable historical figures with this surname include John Rand (1610-1692), an American minister and educator who served as the third president of Harvard College. Another early bearer of the name was Silas Rand (1675-1727), an English-born American merchant and shipbuilder who settled in Massachusetts.

Isaac Rand (1744-1822) was a prominent American merchant and politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate. William Wilberforce Rand (1786-1873) was an English-born Canadian merchant and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.

In the literary world, Benjamin Rand (1827-1883) was an American writer and educator who published several books on grammar and language. He served as the principal of the Rand Grammar School in Philadelphia.

These examples illustrate the historic presence of the surname RAND, which originated in England and later spread to other parts of the world, including North America, through migration and settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rand

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

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

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

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