2000
#17,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,501
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Raybon
A surname derived from a combination of "ray" and "bon", potentially signifying origins or attributes related to a ray or beam.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,624 Americans carry the last name Raybon. That puts it at #19,172 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 211,056 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Raybon 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.
Bearers in the US
1.6K
1 in 211,056
Census rank
#19,172
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,416 bearers of the surname Raybon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19172nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Raybon, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Raybon
The surname Raybon has its origins in the French region of Normandy, where it first appeared in the 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French words "raie" and "bon," meaning "ray" and "good" respectively. This combination likely referred to a person with a sunny or cheerful disposition, or perhaps someone who lived near a stream or body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a certain Raibon de Montfort is listed as a landowner in the county of Somerset, England. This suggests that the name had already spread from Normandy to England by the late 11th century, likely due to the Norman conquest of 1066.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as Raybourn, Reybourne, and Raybun in various medieval records and manuscripts across Normandy and England. One notable bearer of the name was Sir William Raybon, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III in the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Raybon family established roots in various parts of England, with branches settling in counties like Somerset, Devon, and Kent. One prominent figure from this era was John Raybon (1547-1625), a wealthy merchant and landowner who served as the Mayor of Taunton in Somerset.
In the 18th century, the Raybon surname began to spread further across the British Isles and beyond. James Raybon (1712-1784) was a Scottish explorer and navigator who accompanied Captain James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean in the 1770s.
Another notable bearer of the name was Mary Raybon (1768-1843), an English writer and poet who published several volumes of poetry and prose during the Romantic period. Her work was praised by contemporaries such as Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
As the centuries progressed, the Raybon name continued to disperse across the globe, with many bearers of the name emigrating to the Americas, Australia, and other parts of the world. However, the name's roots can be traced back to its origins in the medieval Normandy region of France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raybon
Among Census respondents with the surname Raybon, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Raybon 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 Raybon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.9% · 876
- Black or African American28.4% · 402
- Two or more races5.1% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Raybon
Raybon 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
#18,262
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,521
+20 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Down 904 places
2020
#19,172
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,416
-105 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 910 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,358 | 1,501 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,262 | 1,521 | 0.52 | +20 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 904 places |
| 2020 | #19,172 | 1,416 | 0.47 | -105 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 910 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 Raybon 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 | #18,262 | #19,172 | -5.0% |
| Count | 1,521 | 1,416 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 0.47 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Raybon bearers went from 1,521 to 1,416 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 910 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,262 to #19,172.
FAQ
Raybon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Raybon?
Name Census estimates that about 1,624 living Americans carry the surname Raybon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 211,056 residents.
How common is Raybon?
Raybon ranks #19,172 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,416 people with the surname Raybon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,624), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Raybon.
Has Raybon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Raybon went from 1,521 recorded bearers to 1,416. That is a decrease of 105 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,262 to #19,172.
What does the Census say about the background of Raybon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Raybon, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Raybon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.9% (876 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Raybon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.9%), Black (28.4%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Raybon (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 Raybon mean?
A surname derived from a combination of "ray" and "bon", potentially signifying origins or attributes related to a ray or beam. 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 Raybon (0.47 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 are called Raybon?
You can see how many people are called Raybon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.