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

Reading, 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 Reading surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reading in America

Reading is the 10715th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reading surname appeared 2,982 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Reading.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reading 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 Reading

The surname Reading is of English origin, derived from the place name 'Reading' in Berkshire, England. It is a locational surname, meaning it was originally given to someone who hailed from the town of Reading.

The town of Reading itself dates back to the 8th century, with its name deriving from the Old English phrase 'Readin-gan', meaning 'the people of Reada'. Reada was likely a Saxon leader or chieftain who established a settlement in the area.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Reading can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Redinge'. This indicates that the surname was already in use by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the surname was John Reading, a prominent landowner and knight who served under King Edward I. He was born around 1250 and died in 1317.

Another early example is William Reading, a wealthy merchant and alderman of London, who lived from 1340 to 1400. He was involved in the wool trade and held significant influence in the city's affairs.

In the 16th century, Thomas Reading (1516-1587) was a respected English clergyman and author, best known for his work 'A Guide to the Holy Scriptures'.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Colonel John Reading (1588-1667) was a prominent military leader who fought for the Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell.

In the 18th century, Reverend William Reading (1717-1794) was a notable Anglican clergyman and author, known for his sermons and religious writings.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the surname Reading throughout history, highlighting its English origins and long-standing presence in various fields and contexts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reading

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

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

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