2000
#11,260
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,577
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Rickey
Derived from the Old English given name "Richeard," meaning brave or powerful ruler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,579 Americans carry the last name Rickey. That puts it at #13,040 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,902 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rickey 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
2.6K
1 in 132,902
Census rank
#13,040
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,249 bearers of the surname Rickey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13040th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rickey, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rickey
The surname Rickey has its origins in the Old English words "ric" and "rice", which mean powerful or wealthy. It is an English surname that first emerged in the areas of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in the 12th century. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176, where one William Riche is mentioned.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England, there are several references to places with names similar to Rickey, such as Richebi and Richingeham. These place names likely contributed to the development of the surname Rickey, as people were often identified by the place they lived or came from.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Rickey was Sir William Rickey, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War. Another notable figure was Thomas Rickey (1519-1567), an English churchman and academic who served as the Provost of King's College, Cambridge.
In the 17th century, the surname Rickey was found in various spellings, including Rickie, Ricky, and Rickey. One of the earliest recorded instances of the spelling "Rickey" is found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Beverley, Yorkshire, where a John Rickey was baptized in 1642.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several individuals with the surname Rickey made significant contributions. Joseph Rickey (1757-1827) was an American farmer and pioneer who settled in Kentucky and helped establish the town of Rickey's Station. Samuel Rickey (1810-1881) was an American politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Branch Rickey (1881-1965), an American baseball executive who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball by signing Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. Rickey's decision was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement and helped pave the way for the integration of professional sports.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rickey
Among Census respondents with the surname Rickey, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rickey 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 Rickey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,019
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 81
- Two or more races3.4% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 29
- Black or African American1.2% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rickey
Rickey 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
#12,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,523
-54 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 1,063 places
2020
#13,040
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,249
-274 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 717 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,260 | 2,577 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,323 | 2,523 | 0.86 | -54 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 1,063 places |
| 2020 | #13,040 | 2,249 | 0.75 | -274 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 717 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 Rickey 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 | #12,323 | #13,040 | -5.8% |
| Count | 2,523 | 2,249 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.75 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rickey bearers went from 2,523 to 2,249 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 717 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,323 to #13,040.
FAQ
Rickey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rickey?
Name Census estimates that about 2,579 living Americans carry the surname Rickey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,902 residents.
How common is Rickey?
Rickey ranks #13,040 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,249 people with the surname Rickey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,579), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Rickey.
Has Rickey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rickey went from 2,523 recorded bearers to 2,249. That is a decrease of 274 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,323 to #13,040.
What does the Census say about the background of Rickey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rickey, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Rickey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,019 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rickey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Rickey (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 Rickey mean?
Derived from the Old English given name "Richeard," meaning brave or powerful 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 Rickey (0.75 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 common is the surname Rickey?
You can see how many people have the surname Rickey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.