2000
#5,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,341
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.98
Rare Last name
Reavis
Derived from the Old French word "rêve," meaning "dream," likely referring to a dreamer or an imaginative person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,573 Americans carry the last name Reavis. That puts it at #6,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,503 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reavis 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 61,503
Census rank
#6,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,860 bearers of the surname Reavis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reavis, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reavis
The surname Reavis has its roots in the British Isles, specifically England and Scotland. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from a place called Reavill or Revill, which was located in Yorkshire, England. The name itself is a combination of two Old English words, "hreaw," meaning rough or untamed, and "feld," meaning a field or open land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Revill." This historical document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property ownership in England at the time.
In the early 13th century, the name appears in several Scottish records, such as the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented the Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. One such entry is that of Thomas de Reuill, who hailed from the county of Roxburghshire.
Over time, the surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Reavill, Revill, Reavell, and Reavel. These variations likely stemmed from regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during the Middle Ages.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Reavis include:
1. Sir John Reavis (c. 1450-1520), an English nobleman and landowner from Yorkshire.
2. William Reavis (c. 1620-1677), a Scottish immigrant to colonial America and one of the first settlers in New Jersey.
3. James Reavis (1843-1914), an American con man known for his fraudulent claims to ownership of a vast area of land in Arizona.
4. Marcellus Reavis (1865-1945), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri.
5. Lois Reavis (1926-2008), an American writer and editor who co-founded the San Francisco Bay Guardian newspaper.
While the surname Reavis is not among the most common surnames today, it has a rich history that can be traced back to the medieval period in England and Scotland, with its origins rooted in the descriptions of rural landscapes and settlements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reavis
Among Census respondents with the surname Reavis, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Reavis 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 Reavis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 3,828
- Black or African American12.1% · 587
- Two or more races4.5% · 217
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reavis
Reavis 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
#6,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,305
-36 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Down 478 places
2020
#6,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,860
-445 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Down 271 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,933 | 5,341 | 1.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,411 | 5,305 | 1.80 | -36 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 478 places |
| 2020 | #6,682 | 4,860 | 1.63 | -445 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 271 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 Reavis 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 | #6,411 | #6,682 | -4.2% |
| Count | 5,305 | 4,860 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.80 | 1.63 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reavis bearers went from 5,305 to 4,860 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 271 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,411 to #6,682.
FAQ
Reavis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reavis?
Name Census estimates that about 5,573 living Americans carry the surname Reavis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,503 residents.
How common is Reavis?
Reavis ranks #6,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.63 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 4,860 people with the surname Reavis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,573), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.63 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 Reavis.
Has Reavis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reavis went from 5,305 recorded bearers to 4,860. That is a decrease of 445 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,411 to #6,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Reavis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reavis, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Reavis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (3,828 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reavis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.8%), Black (12.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Reavis (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 Reavis mean?
Derived from the Old French word "rêve," meaning "dream," likely referring to a dreamer or an imaginative person. 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 Reavis (1.63 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 surname Reavis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.