2000
#1,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,950
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.65
Uncommon Last name
Richey
Derived from a place name meaning "riche island" in Old French or from a nickname for a wealthy person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,330 Americans carry the last name Richey. That puts it at #1,986 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,860 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Richey 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 Richey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,860
Census rank
#1,986
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,729 bearers of the surname Richey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1986th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Richey, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Richey
The surname Richey has its origins in England and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "ric" meaning powerful and "ey" meaning an island or dry ground. This surname likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived on a wealthy or well-off island or land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Richeus in Gloucestershire. The name was also present in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1195, referencing a William Richey.
During the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms such as Riche, Richi, and Richy. It was particularly prevalent in counties like Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset in the southwest of England. Some notable early bearers of the name include Sir John Richey, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
As the centuries progressed, the spelling of the surname evolved and became more standardized as Richey. In the 16th century, records show a Richey family residing in the village of Ashbury in Berkshire. During this time, the name also spread to other parts of England, including Yorkshire and Lancashire.
One notable figure from the 17th century was Sir Thomas Richey, a merchant and alderman of London, who lived from 1602 to 1679. In the 18th century, Reverend John Richey, born in 1718, was a prominent clergyman and author from County Antrim, Ireland.
Moving into the 19th century, Michael Richey, born in 1817, was an Irish mathematician and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of geometry. Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Richey, an American politician from Ohio, who served as a U.S. Representative from 1847 to 1853.
Throughout its history, the surname Richey has also been associated with various place names, such as Richey Creek in Missouri and Richey County in Montana, both named after individuals with the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Richey
Among Census respondents with the surname Richey, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Richey 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 Richey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.4% · 14,780
- Black or African American7.8% · 1,387
- Two or more races4.1% · 724
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 620
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 93
Timeline
Historical Census data for Richey
Richey 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
#1,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,296
+346 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 6.20
Rank movement Down 138 places
2020
#1,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,729
-567 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 5.93
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,839 | 17,950 | 6.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,977 | 18,296 | 6.20 | +346 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 138 places |
| 2020 | #1,986 | 17,729 | 5.93 | -567 bearers (-3.1%) | 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 Richey 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 | #1,977 | #1,986 | -0.5% |
| Count | 18,296 | 17,729 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 6.20 | 5.93 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Richey bearers went from 18,296 to 17,729 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,977 to #1,986.
FAQ
Richey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Richey?
Name Census estimates that about 20,330 living Americans carry the surname Richey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,860 residents.
How common is Richey?
Richey ranks #1,986 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,729 people with the surname Richey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,330), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Richey.
Has Richey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Richey went from 18,296 recorded bearers to 17,729. That is a decrease of 567 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,977 to #1,986.
What does the Census say about the background of Richey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Richey, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Richey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.4% (14,780 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Richey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.4%), Black (7.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Richey (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 Richey mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "riche island" in Old French or from a nickname for a wealthy person. 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 Richey (5.93 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 Richey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.