2000
#5,199
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,173
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.29
Rare Last name
Rawlins
Derived from a place name meaning "Rawland's son," referring to someone living on rough or uncultivated land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,653 Americans carry the last name Rawlins. That puts it at #5,092 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,787 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rawlins 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 Rawlins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,787
Census rank
#5,092
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,674 bearers of the surname Rawlins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5092nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawlins, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rawlins
The surname Rawlins is believed to have originated in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Rāwlīn," which is a diminutive of the Germanic name "Radulf" or "Raoul." The name Radulf itself is composed of the elements "rad" (meaning counsel or advice) and "wulf" (meaning wolf).
One of the earliest known references to the Rawlins surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a person named William Raulyn is recorded in Oxfordshire. Another early record is from the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, which mentions a John Raulyn.
The surname Rawlins may also have connections to certain place names in England, such as Rawlinson in Lancashire, which was recorded as "Raulundesun" in the Domesday Book of 1086. This place name is likely derived from an Old English personal name and the word "tun" (meaning settlement or enclosure).
In the 14th century, a notable figure with the surname Rawlins was John Rawlins (c. 1330-1406), a English theologian and academic who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1395 to 1398.
In the 16th century, Sir Walter Rawlins (c. 1535-1593) was a prominent English sailor and explorer who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his famous circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580.
Another notable bearer of the Rawlins surname was Thomas Rawlins (1620-1670), an English Puritan clergyman and author who was a member of the Westminster Assembly and served as the principal of St. Alban Hall, Oxford.
During the 17th century, John Rawlins (1642-1686) was an English Baptist minister and writer who published several works on theology and religious controversies.
In the 18th century, William Rawlins (1727-1796) was a British naval officer and explorer who served as a captain in the Royal Navy and conducted surveys and explorations in the South Pacific and along the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.
While the surname Rawlins has a long history in England, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, the majority of its historical roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to its English origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rawlins
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawlins, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Rawlins 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 Rawlins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.7% · 4,654
- Black or African American17.9% · 1,195
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 353
- Two or more races5.0% · 336
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 110
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rawlins
Rawlins 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
#5,305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,566
+393 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 106 places
2020
#5,092
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,674
+108 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Up 213 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,199 | 6,173 | 2.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,305 | 6,566 | 2.23 | +393 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 106 places |
| 2020 | #5,092 | 6,674 | 2.23 | +108 bearers (+1.6%) | Up 213 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 Rawlins 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 | #5,305 | #5,092 | 4.0% |
| Count | 6,566 | 6,674 | 1.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.23 | 2.23 | 0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rawlins bearers went from 6,566 to 6,674 (+1.6% change). The surname moved up 213 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,305 to #5,092.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rawlins
FAQ
Rawlins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rawlins?
Name Census estimates that about 7,653 living Americans carry the surname Rawlins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,787 residents.
How common is Rawlins?
Rawlins ranks #5,092 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,674 people with the surname Rawlins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,653), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rawlins.
Has Rawlins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rawlins went from 6,566 recorded bearers to 6,674. That is an increase of 108 (+1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,305 to #5,092.
What does the Census say about the background of Rawlins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawlins, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Rawlins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (4,654 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rawlins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.7%), Black (17.9%), Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Rawlins (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 Rawlins mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Rawland's son," referring to someone living on rough or uncultivated land. 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 Rawlins (2.23 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 surname Rawlins?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.