2000
#6,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,910
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.82
Rare Last name
Reams
Derived from Old English "hreac", referring to someone who lived near a rick or heap, such as hay.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,559 Americans carry the last name Reams. That puts it at #6,692 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,658 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reams 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
5.6K
1 in 61,658
Census rank
#6,692
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,848 bearers of the surname Reams in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6692nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reams, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reams
The surname Reams has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "ream," which means a strip or border of land. This suggests that the name was likely originally given to someone who lived on or near a boundary or border of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reams can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a person named Walter Rem is listed. The spelling variation "Rem" is likely an earlier form of the surname Reams.
In the 13th century, the surname Reams began to appear more frequently in various records and documents. One notable example is in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, which mentions a Richard Rem. This record provides evidence that the name had spread to other parts of England by this time.
The Reams surname has also been linked to certain place names in England, such as Reams Farm in Oxfordshire and Reams Wood in Buckinghamshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Some notable individuals with the surname Reams throughout history include:
1. William Reams (c. 1590 - 1679), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works in the 17th century.
2. John Reams (1655 - 1718), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Yorkshire, England.
3. Mary Reams (1737 - 1810), a prominent Quaker minister and activist who spoke out against slavery and promoted women's rights in colonial America.
4. Benjamin Reams (1809 - 1887), a British engineer and inventor who patented several improvements to steam engines and other industrial machinery.
5. Elizabeth Reams (1876 - 1956), an American educator and suffragette who campaigned for women's right to vote in the early 20th century.
While the surname Reams has its origins in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to migration and the movement of people over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reams
Among Census respondents with the surname Reams, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Reams 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 Reams surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.6% · 3,715
- Black or African American14.0% · 681
- Two or more races4.4% · 212
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reams
Reams 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
#6,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,118
+208 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 234 places
2020
#6,692
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,848
-270 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 1.62
Rank movement Down 74 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,384 | 4,910 | 1.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,618 | 5,118 | 1.74 | +208 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 234 places |
| 2020 | #6,692 | 4,848 | 1.62 | -270 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 74 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 Reams 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 | #6,618 | #6,692 | -1.1% |
| Count | 5,118 | 4,848 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.62 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reams bearers went from 5,118 to 4,848 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 74 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,618 to #6,692.
FAQ
Reams surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reams?
Name Census estimates that about 5,559 living Americans carry the surname Reams. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,658 residents.
How common is Reams?
Reams ranks #6,692 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.62 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 4,848 people with the surname Reams. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,559), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.62 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 Reams.
Has Reams become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reams went from 5,118 recorded bearers to 4,848. That is a decrease of 270 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,618 to #6,692.
What does the Census say about the background of Reams?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reams, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Reams in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.6% (3,715 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reams appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.6%), Black (14.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Reams (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 Reams mean?
Derived from Old English "hreac", referring to someone who lived near a rick or heap, such as hay. 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 Reams (1.62 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 Americans have the surname Reams?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.