2000
#358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 79,817
First available Census row
Per 100,000 29.59
Uncommon Last name
Reeves
Derived from the Old French word "rives," indicating someone who lived near a riverbank or shore.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 90,965 Americans carry the last name Reeves. That puts it at #399 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reeves 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 Reeves with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
91K
1 in 3,768
Census rank
#399
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
79K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 79,326 bearers of the surname Reeves in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 399th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reeves, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reeves
The surname Reeves is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word "gerefa," which means "bailiff" or "reeve." A reeve was an official appointed to oversee land and collect rents or taxes on behalf of a lord or king. The name originated in the 11th century during the Anglo-Saxon period in England.
While the earliest recorded instance of the surname Reeves is not definitively known, it is believed to have first appeared in various records, such as the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name was likely initially used as a descriptive term for a person's occupation before becoming a hereditary surname.
In the Middle Ages, the surname Reeves was prevalent in various regions of England, particularly in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. It was also found in other parts of the country, including Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The name has undergone several variations in spelling over the centuries, including Reve, Reave, Reeve, and Reves, among others.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Reeves was John Reeves, a 14th-century English clergyman and scholar who served as the Bishop of Carlisle from 1384 to 1396. Another historical figure was William Reeves, born in 1667, who was a prominent English mathematician and inventor known for his contributions to the development of early calculating machines.
In the 19th century, John Reeves (1774-1856) was a British botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of Chinese flora and fauna. He is particularly renowned for his work on the "Plantae Wilsonianae," a collection of plant specimens from China.
Arthur Reeves (1856-1942) was an English actor and playwright who wrote numerous successful plays during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including "The Conquerors" and "The Unchastened Woman."
Martha Reeves (born 1941) is an American singer and former lead vocalist of the Motown vocal group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, known for hits such as "Dancing in the Street" and "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reeves
Among Census respondents with the surname Reeves, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Reeves 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 Reeves surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.1% · 58,741
- Black or African American16.1% · 12,759
- Two or more races4.7% · 3,712
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 2,960
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 624
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 530
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reeves
Reeves 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
#390
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 81,978
+2,161 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 27.79
Rank movement Down 32 places
2020
#399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 79,326
-2,652 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 26.54
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #358 | 79,817 | 29.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #390 | 81,978 | 27.79 | +2,161 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 32 places |
| 2020 | #399 | 79,326 | 26.54 | -2,652 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 9 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 Reeves 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 | #390 | #399 | -2.3% |
| Count | 81,978 | 79,326 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 27.79 | 26.54 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reeves bearers went from 81,978 to 79,326 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #390 to #399.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Reeves
FAQ
Reeves surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reeves?
Name Census estimates that about 90,965 living Americans carry the surname Reeves. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,768 residents.
How common is Reeves?
Reeves ranks #399 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 27 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 79,326 people with the surname Reeves. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (90,965), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 27 of them to have the surname Reeves.
Has Reeves become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reeves went from 81,978 recorded bearers to 79,326. That is a decrease of 2,652 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #390 to #399.
What does the Census say about the background of Reeves?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reeves, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Reeves in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (58,741 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reeves appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.1%), Black (16.1%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Reeves (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 Reeves mean?
Derived from the Old French word "rives," indicating someone who lived near a riverbank or shore. 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 Reeves (26.54 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 Reeves?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.