2000
#13,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,059
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Richeson
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Richard, meaning "brave power" or "strong ruler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,175 Americans carry the last name Richeson. That puts it at #14,959 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,588 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Richeson 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.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 157,588
Census rank
#14,959
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,897 bearers of the surname Richeson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14959th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Richeson, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Richeson
The surname Richeson has its origins in the English county of Yorkshire, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "ric" meaning powerful or wealthy, and "sun" meaning son, suggesting it was originally a descriptive name for the son of a prosperous individual.
One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which list a Richard Ricson among the landowners of the region. It is believed that the spelling Richeson emerged later as a variant, with the addition of the suffix "-son" further emphasizing the patronymic nature of the name.
The Richeson surname appears to have been concentrated in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire, throughout the medieval and early modern periods. Records from the 16th and 17th centuries show the name being spelled in various ways, including Richison, Richisonne, and Ritcheson.
One notable early bearer of the name was William Richeson, a merchant and alderman who lived in York in the late 15th century. He is mentioned in several city records from that time, and is believed to have been a wealthy and influential figure in the community.
Another individual of historical significance was John Richeson, a clergyman born in Yorkshire in 1612. He served as the rector of several parishes in the region and was known for his scholarly works on theology and biblical exegesis.
In the 18th century, a family of Richesons were landowners in the village of Leyburn, North Yorkshire. James Richeson (1723-1798) was a prominent member of this family and served as a magistrate and deputy lieutenant for the county.
During the 19th century, the Richeson name spread more widely across England, with individuals bearing the surname found in various parts of the country. Notable figures from this period include George Richeson (1807-1877), a successful businessman and philanthropist in Manchester, and Mary Richeson (1841-1912), an author and advocate for women's education who hailed from Kent.
As the centuries passed, the Richeson surname also made its way to other parts of the world, carried by emigrants from England. While the name retains its strongest associations with its Yorkshire origins, it can now be found in various countries with historical ties to the British Isles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Richeson
Among Census respondents with the surname Richeson, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Richeson 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 Richeson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 1,658
- Two or more races5.1% · 97
- Black or African American3.5% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Richeson
Richeson 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
#14,286
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,096
+37 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 750 places
2020
#14,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,897
-199 bearers (-9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 673 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,536 | 2,059 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,286 | 2,096 | 0.71 | +37 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 750 places |
| 2020 | #14,959 | 1,897 | 0.63 | -199 bearers (-9.5%) | Down 673 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 Richeson 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 | #14,286 | #14,959 | -4.7% |
| Count | 2,096 | 1,897 | -9.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.63 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Richeson bearers went from 2,096 to 1,897 (-9.5% change). The surname moved down 673 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,286 to #14,959.
FAQ
Richeson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Richeson?
Name Census estimates that about 2,175 living Americans carry the surname Richeson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,588 residents.
How common is Richeson?
Richeson ranks #14,959 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,897 people with the surname Richeson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Richeson.
Has Richeson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Richeson went from 2,096 recorded bearers to 1,897. That is a decrease of 199 (-9.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,286 to #14,959.
What does the Census say about the background of Richeson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Richeson, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Richeson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (1,658 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Richeson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Two or More Races (5.1%), Black (3.5%). 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 Richeson (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 Richeson mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Richard, meaning "brave power" or "strong ruler." 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 Richeson (0.63 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 are called Richeson?
Find out how many people are called Richeson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.