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

Rawson, 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 Rawson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rawson in America

Rawson is the 5442nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rawson surname appeared 6,395 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Rawson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rawson 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 Rawson

The surname Rawson originated in England, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English words "ra" meaning "roe deer" and "son" meaning "son of," suggesting that the name may have originally been given to someone who was a hunter or poacher of roe deer.

One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1176, where a certain Ralph Rawson is mentioned. This record suggests that the name was already established in that region by the late 12th century.

During the medieval period, the name Rawson appeared in various spellings, including Raweson, Raueson, and Raweson. These variations likely reflect regional dialects and differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.

In the 13th century, the Rawson family established themselves as landowners in the county of Yorkshire, where they held estates in the village of Rawson near Calverley. The name of the village itself is thought to be derived from the family name, further reinforcing their connection to the area.

Notable individuals bearing the Rawson surname include Sir Rawson Hart Boddam (1585-1658), an English military officer who served in the English Civil War, and Sir William Rawson (1598-1667), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Andover.

In the 17th century, the Rawson family also had a presence in the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded Rawsons in America was Edward Rawson (1615-1693), who served as the Secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1650 to 1686.

Another prominent figure was Sir William Rawson (1838-1923), a British civil servant who served as the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces in British India from 1887 to 1892.

Throughout the centuries, the Rawson name has been carried by various individuals, including authors, academics, and military personnel, further contributing to the rich history and diversity associated with this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rawson

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rawson, 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!