2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Reddaway
Likely derived from a place name referring to someone from a reddish-colored area or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Reddaway. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reddaway 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 Reddaway with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Reddaway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reddaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reddaway
The surname Reddaway is of English origin, emerging in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "read" and "weg," meaning "red" and "way" or "path" respectively. This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a red-colored road or path.
Reddaway is particularly associated with the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire in northern England. Early spellings included Redaway, Reddeaway, and Reddewei. The earliest known recording of the name dates back to the 13th century in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire from 1285, where it appears as Robard de Reddewei.
The Reddaway name is not found in the renowned Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. However, the surname does appear in other historical records from the 13th century onwards.
Notable individuals bearing the Reddaway surname include William Reddaway (1768-1828), an English engraver and illustrator known for his works on natural history. John Reddaway (1820-1894) was a prominent English solicitor and coroner in Staffordshire. Sir William Reddaway (1893-1981) was a British diplomat and civil servant who served as Ambassador to Japan from 1952 to 1957.
Other figures of note include James Reddaway (1904-1992), a British journalist and author who wrote extensively on Eastern European affairs, and Gordon Reddaway (1912-1996), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Worcestershire in the 1930s.
While the Reddaway surname is relatively uncommon, it has a long and interesting history rooted in the landscapes and linguistic traditions of northern England. The name's journey through the centuries provides a glimpse into the lives and experiences of those who carried it.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reddaway
Among Census respondents with the surname Reddaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Reddaway 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 Reddaway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 7
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reddaway
Reddaway 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-8 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,708 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-15 bearers (-12.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,647 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 15,708 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.8%) | Down 12,647 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 Reddaway 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 | #142,108 | #154,755 | -8.9% |
| Count | 117 | 102 | -12.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reddaway bearers went from 117 to 102 (-12.8% change). The surname moved down 12,647 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #154,755.
FAQ
Reddaway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reddaway?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Reddaway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Reddaway?
Reddaway ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Reddaway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Reddaway.
Has Reddaway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reddaway went from 117 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Reddaway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reddaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Reddaway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reddaway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Hispanic (6.9%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Reddaway (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 Reddaway mean?
Likely derived from a place name referring to someone from a reddish-colored area or village. 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 Reddaway (0.03 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 common is the surname Reddaway?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Reddaway at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.