2000
#16,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,599
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.59
Rare Last name
Raye
A medieval French surname derived from an Old French word meaning "streaked" or "striped".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,836 Americans carry the last name Raye. That puts it at #17,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 186,685 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Raye 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 Raye with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 186,685
Census rank
#17,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,601 bearers of the surname Raye in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Raye, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Raye
The surname Raye originated in France and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old French word "raie," which means "stripe" or "streak." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who had a distinctive stripe in their hair or clothing.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval records from the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. One of the earliest documented bearers of the name was Willelmus Raye, who was mentioned in the Doomesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Raie, Raye, and Rae, in records from the Duchy of Normandy. During this period, the name was also associated with several place names, including Raye-sur-Authie in Picardy and Raye-sur-Ance in Normandy.
One notable bearer of the name was Jean de Raye, a French knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was captured by the English at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Another was Gilles de Raye, a 15th-century French nobleman who served as the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, a prominent military order during the Crusades.
In the 16th century, the Raye family established themselves as prominent landowners and nobility in various parts of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou. One member of this family was François de Raye, a French courtier and diplomat who served under King Henry IV of France in the late 16th century.
The name also spread to other parts of Europe, including England and Scotland, where it was often anglicized to "Ray" or "Rea." One notable Scottish bearer of the name was John Rea, a 16th-century clergyman and reformer who played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation.
Another prominent figure with the surname Raye was Sir Robert Raye, an English military commander who fought in the English Civil War during the 17th century. He was initially a supporter of King Charles I but later defected to the Parliamentarian side and played a crucial role in the siege of Colchester in 1648.
While the surname Raye has its roots in France, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through emigration and colonization. However, its origins can be traced back to the Old French word "raie" and the medieval regions of Normandy and Brittany, where it first gained prominence as a distinctive family name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raye
Among Census respondents with the surname Raye, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Raye 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 Raye surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 972
- Black or African American26.7% · 428
- Two or more races5.7% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Raye
Raye 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
#17,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,625
+26 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 839 places
2020
#17,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,601
-24 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Up 94 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,540 | 1,599 | 0.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,379 | 1,625 | 0.55 | +26 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 839 places |
| 2020 | #17,285 | 1,601 | 0.54 | -24 bearers (-1.5%) | Up 94 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 Raye 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 | #17,379 | #17,285 | 0.5% |
| Count | 1,625 | 1,601 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.54 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Raye bearers went from 1,625 to 1,601 (-1.5% change). The surname moved up 94 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,379 to #17,285.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Raye
FAQ
Raye surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Raye?
Name Census estimates that about 1,836 living Americans carry the surname Raye. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 186,685 residents.
How common is Raye?
Raye ranks #17,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,601 people with the surname Raye. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,836), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Raye.
Has Raye become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Raye went from 1,625 recorded bearers to 1,601. That is a decrease of 24 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,379 to #17,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Raye?
Among Census respondents with the surname Raye, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Raye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (972 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Raye appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.7%), Black (26.7%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Raye (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 Raye mean?
A medieval French surname derived from an Old French word meaning "streaked" or "striped". 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 Raye (0.54 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 Raye?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Raye, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.