2000
#169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 146,440
First available Census row
Per 100,000 54.28
Common Last name
Rice
An English occupational surname referring to someone who harvested, sold, or processed rice.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 163,366 Americans carry the last name Rice. That puts it at #192 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 47.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,098 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rice 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 Rice with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
163K
1 in 2,098
Census rank
#192
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
47.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
142K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 142,463 bearers of the surname Rice in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 47.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 192nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rice, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rice
The surname Rice is of English and Irish origin, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "ryge," meaning "rye," which was a type of cereal grain crop. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who grew or dealt in rye.
In England, the surname Rice can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Ris" and "Rise." This suggests that the name was already established in parts of England before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Rice in Ireland date back to the 13th century, when it was spelled as "Rys" or "Ryse." It is believed that the name was introduced to Ireland by English settlers during the Norman invasion and subsequent colonization efforts.
One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Rice was Sir Edmund Rice (1638-1711), an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in England. Another prominent individual was Sir Ralph Rice (1647-1727), an English judge and member of Parliament.
In the United States, the surname Rice can be traced back to the 17th century, with early settlers such as Edmund Rice (1594-1663), who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 and is considered the progenitor of the Rice family in America.
Other notable individuals with the surname Rice include Anne Rice (1941-2021), the famous American author known for her gothic fiction and the "Vampire Chronicles" series, and Condoleezza Rice (born 1954), the former United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor.
The surname Rice has also been associated with various place names, such as Rice Lake in Ontario, Canada, and Rice County in Minnesota, United States, which were likely named after individuals bearing the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rice
Among Census respondents with the surname Rice, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Rice 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 Rice surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.7% · 106,382
- Black or African American16.2% · 23,134
- Two or more races4.3% · 6,105
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4,865
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,021
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 956
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rice
Rice 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
#184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149,500
+3,060 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 50.68
Rank movement Down 15 places
2020
#192
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142,463
-7,037 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 47.66
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #169 | 146,440 | 54.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #184 | 149,500 | 50.68 | +3,060 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 15 places |
| 2020 | #192 | 142,463 | 47.66 | -7,037 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 8 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 Rice 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 | #184 | #192 | -4.3% |
| Count | 149,500 | 142,463 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 50.68 | 47.66 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rice bearers went from 149,500 to 142,463 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #184 to #192.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rice
FAQ
Rice surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rice?
Name Census estimates that about 163,366 living Americans carry the surname Rice. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,098 residents.
How common is Rice?
Rice ranks #192 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 47.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 48 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 142,463 people with the surname Rice. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (163,366), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 47.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 47.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 48 of them to have the surname Rice.
Has Rice become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rice went from 149,500 recorded bearers to 142,463. That is a decrease of 7,037 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #184 to #192.
What does the Census say about the background of Rice?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rice, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Rice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.7% (106,382 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rice appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.7%), Black (16.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Rice (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 Rice mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who harvested, sold, or processed rice. 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 Rice (47.66 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 last name Rice?
You can see how many people have the last name Rice on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.