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

Rebecca, 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 Rebecca surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rebecca in America

Rebecca is the 51941st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rebecca surname appeared 400 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rebecca.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rebecca 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 Rebecca

The surname "REBECCA" is not a surname in the traditional sense, but rather the feminine given name Rebecca. It is derived from the Hebrew name "Rivkah," which means "to tie," "to bind," or "to secure." The name is thought to have originated in ancient Israel, and is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Despite its origins as a given name, there are historical records of individuals who adopted "Rebecca" as a surname. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the 16th century, when a Jewish woman named Rebecca Abravanel, born in Spain in 1474, used "Rebecca" as her surname after being forced to convert to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition.

Another notable individual with the surname "Rebecca" was Rebecca Gratz, born in 1781 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gratz was a prominent Jewish educator and philanthropist who founded several charitable organizations and advocated for the education of Jewish children.

In the 19th century, there are records of a family named "Rebecca" living in the town of Bampton, Oxfordshire, England. The family is believed to have adopted the surname as a variation of the more common surname "Rebekah," which is also derived from the Hebrew name.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname "Rebecca" in England was William Rebecca, born in 1815 in the village of Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset. He was a farmer and landowner, and his descendants continued to use the surname in the surrounding areas.

In the United States, there are records of a family named "Rebecca" living in Virginia in the late 18th century. One member of this family, John Rebecca, was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War and is mentioned in historical records from that period.

While not a traditional surname, the name "Rebecca" has been adopted as a surname by individuals throughout history, often as a result of cultural or religious circumstances. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Hebrew, and it has been used as both a given name and a surname in various parts of the world over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rebecca

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rebecca, please contact us.

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