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

Rawlings, 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 Rawlings surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rawlings in America

Rawlings is the 3684th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rawlings surname appeared 9,652 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Rawlings.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rawlings 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 Rawlings

The surname Rawlings is of English origin, and it is derived from the Old English word "rawlingas," which means "the descendants of Rawlin." The earliest recorded instances of this surname date back to the 12th century in the county of Lincolnshire, England.

Rawlings is a locational surname, meaning it was initially given to people who lived in or came from a particular place. In this case, the name likely referred to someone who lived near or came from a settlement or farmstead called "Rawlin's enclosure" or something similar.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Rawlings can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a certain "William deRaulingis" is mentioned. This early spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time.

In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a "Ralph de Rawelinge" is mentioned in the county of Oxfordshire. This suggests that the name had spread to other parts of England by this time.

Over the centuries, the Rawlings surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Sir John Rawlins (c. 1470-1538), who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1528 and was a prominent merchant and financier.

Another notable figure was Sir Walter Rawlinson (1619-1667), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament and was a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.

In the literary world, John Rawlins (1619-1691) was a notable 17th-century English writer and poet. He is best known for his work "The Rebellion," a poetic account of the English Civil War.

Thomas Rawlinson (1681-1725) was an English clergyman and bibliophile who amassed a significant collection of books and manuscripts, many of which are now housed in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.

In more recent history, Sir Gordon Rawlinson (1919-1998) was a British army officer and diplomat who served as the Governor of the Bahamas from 1973 to 1975.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rawlings

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

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

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

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