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

Rhames, 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 Rhames surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rhames in America

Rhames is the 29626th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rhames surname appeared 795 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 Rhames.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rhames 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 Rhames

The surname RHAMES originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "ramm," which referred to a ram or male sheep. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone involved in the sheep or wool trade.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name RHAMES can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the early 13th century, where a Robert Rammes is mentioned. These rolls were financial records kept by the English Exchequer, indicating that individuals bearing this surname were present in Yorkshire at that time.

In the 14th century, a variant spelling, "Rames," appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire. These rolls were tax records, suggesting that the RHAMES family had spread to other parts of England by that point.

A notable person with the surname RHAMES was John Rames, a Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire in 1420. He was likely from the village of Ramsey, which may have influenced the spelling of his surname.

Another early record of the name can be found in the Registry of the Gild of the Holy Trinity in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, where a William Rames is listed as a member in the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the RHAMES surname appears to have been concentrated in the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Leicestershire. One individual of note was Robert Rhames, who was born in Warwickshire around 1550 and became a renowned scholar and clergyman.

The variant spelling "Rames" persisted throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, with records showing individuals bearing this name in various parishes across England. One notable figure was Thomas Rames, a merchant and landowner who lived in Gloucestershire in the late 17th century.

By the 19th century, the RHAMES surname had spread more widely across England, with families recorded in counties such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Lancashire. A notable individual from this period was William Rhames, a celebrated architect born in Manchester in 1810, who designed several notable buildings in the city.

Throughout its history, the RHAMES surname has had a strong presence in various regions of England, particularly in the Midlands and the North. While the name's origins can be traced back to the medieval period, it has endured and spread across the country over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rhames

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

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

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

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