2000
#12,277
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,323
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Ranger
An occupational surname referring to a gamekeeper or forest guardian.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,783 Americans carry the last name Ranger. That puts it at #12,239 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,160 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ranger 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 Ranger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,160
Census rank
#12,239
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,427 bearers of the surname Ranger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12239th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ranger, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ranger
Among Census respondents with the surname Ranger, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Ranger 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 Ranger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.6% · 1,690
- Black or African American15.5% · 376
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 149
- Two or more races4.2% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ranger
Ranger 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
#12,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,504
+181 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 140 places
2020
#12,239
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,427
-77 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 178 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,277 | 2,323 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,417 | 2,504 | 0.85 | +181 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 140 places |
| 2020 | #12,239 | 2,427 | 0.81 | -77 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 178 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 Ranger 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 | #12,417 | #12,239 | 1.4% |
| Count | 2,504 | 2,427 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.81 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ranger bearers went from 2,504 to 2,427 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 178 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,417 to #12,239.
FAQ
Ranger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ranger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,783 living Americans carry the surname Ranger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,160 residents.
How common is Ranger?
Ranger ranks #12,239 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,427 people with the surname Ranger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,783), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Ranger.
Has Ranger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ranger went from 2,504 recorded bearers to 2,427. That is a decrease of 77 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,417 to #12,239.
What does the Census say about the background of Ranger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ranger, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.5%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Ranger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.6% (1,690 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ranger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.6%), Black (15.5%), Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Ranger (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 Ranger mean?
An occupational surname referring to a gamekeeper or forest guardian. 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 Ranger (0.81 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 have the last name Ranger?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Ranger, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.