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

Ranger, 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 Ranger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ranger in America

Ranger is the 12417th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ranger surname appeared 2,504 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ranger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ranger 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 Ranger

The surname RANGER has its origins in medieval England and France, emerging as an occupational name in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "rangier," which means "to wander" or "to roam." This term was often applied to forest wardens or royal park rangers, who were responsible for patrolling and protecting the forests and hunting grounds owned by nobility.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the RANGER surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from the year 1197, where a man named Radulfus le Rangere was listed. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the RANGER surname appeared in several medieval records, such as the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1208, which mentioned a William le Ranger. The Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273 also recorded a John le Ranger.

The RANGER name can be traced back to various place names in England, including Ranger's Grove in Nottinghamshire and Ranger's Farm in Suffolk. These locations likely took their names from individuals bearing the RANGER surname who lived or worked there.

One notable figure in history with the RANGER surname was Sir Ralph Ranger (c. 1300-1364), an English knight and landowner who served as Sheriff of Northumberland and held estates in Yorkshire and Northumberland.

Another prominent individual was John Ranger (c. 1494-1557), an English Protestant reformer and Bishop of Ely during the reign of King Edward VI. He played a significant role in the English Reformation and worked to promote Protestant teachings in his diocese.

In Scotland, the RANGER surname can be traced back to the 16th century, with records showing a John Rangar in Aberdeen in 1567 and a William Ranger in Edinburgh in 1587.

In the United States, the RANGER name has its roots in the early colonial period, with many settlers arriving from England and Scotland in the 17th and 18th centuries. One notable American figure was Henry Wager Halleck Ranger (1816-1898), a lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia between 1877 and 1879.

Another notable American with the RANGER surname was Walter E. Ranger (1905-1992), a renowned architect and artist who designed several notable buildings in the Art Deco style, including the Gulf Building in Houston, Texas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ranger

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!