2000
#3,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,472
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.51
Uncommon Last name
Rawlings
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "settlement of the family or followers of a man called Rawl."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,584 Americans carry the last name Rawlings. That puts it at #3,747 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,384 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rawlings 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 Rawlings with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,384
Census rank
#3,747
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.2K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,230 bearers of the surname Rawlings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3747th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawlings, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rawlings
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawlings, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rawlings 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 Rawlings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 6,817
- Black or African American18.4% · 1,695
- Two or more races4.2% · 384
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 232
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 64
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rawlings
Rawlings 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
#3,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,652
+180 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 3.27
Rank movement Down 233 places
2020
#3,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,230
-422 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 3.09
Rank movement Down 63 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,451 | 9,472 | 3.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,684 | 9,652 | 3.27 | +180 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 233 places |
| 2020 | #3,747 | 9,230 | 3.09 | -422 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 63 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 Rawlings 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 | #3,684 | #3,747 | -1.7% |
| Count | 9,652 | 9,230 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.27 | 3.09 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rawlings bearers went from 9,652 to 9,230 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 63 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,684 to #3,747.
FAQ
Rawlings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rawlings?
Name Census estimates that about 10,584 living Americans carry the surname Rawlings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,384 residents.
How common is Rawlings?
Rawlings ranks #3,747 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.09 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 9,230 people with the surname Rawlings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,584), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.09 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 Rawlings.
Has Rawlings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rawlings went from 9,652 recorded bearers to 9,230. That is a decrease of 422 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,684 to #3,747.
What does the Census say about the background of Rawlings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawlings, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Rawlings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (6,817 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rawlings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.9%), Black (18.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Rawlings (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 Rawlings mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "settlement of the family or followers of a man called Rawl." 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 Rawlings (3.09 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 Rawlings?
You can see how many people have the last name Rawlings on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.