2000
#1,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,222
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.13
Uncommon Last name
Ring
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of rings, or a nickname for someone who wore rings.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,062 Americans carry the last name Ring. That puts it at #2,394 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,089 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ring 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 Ring with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,089
Census rank
#2,394
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,879 bearers of the surname Ring in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2394th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ring, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ring
The surname Ring is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word 'hring', meaning a circular band or ring. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for someone who made or sold rings, or it may have referred to someone who lived near a circular earthwork or boundary.
The earliest known record of the surname Ring is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Rings' in Lincolnshire. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century in England.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where it is recorded as 'Ringe'. The variant spelling 'Ryng' is also found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273.
During the medieval period, the Ring surname was concentrated in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, areas where it is likely to have originated. Some notable individuals bearing the name include William Ring, a landowner in Gloucestershire mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327, and John Ryng, a merchant from Oxford recorded in 1379.
In later centuries, the Ring surname spread more widely across England, and by the 16th century, it had also established a presence in Scotland. One of the earliest recorded Scottish bearers of the name was James Ring, a resident of Stirlingshire mentioned in the Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland in 1542.
Notable individuals with the Ring surname include Sir John Ring (1547-1628), an English politician and member of Parliament for Gloucestershire, and John Ring (1752-1821), an English Catholic priest and author of several religious works. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Ring, who arrived in Virginia as an indentured servant in 1635.
The Ring surname has been carried by several notable individuals throughout history, including the English author and journalist Andrew Ring (1919-1997), the American baseball player Evan Ring (1904-1992), and the British actor and comedian David Ring (1934-2019).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ring
Among Census respondents with the surname Ring, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ring 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 Ring surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 13,301
- Two or more races3.7% · 554
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 435
- Black or African American1.9% · 285
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 236
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 68
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ring
Ring 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
#2,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,381
-2,841 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 5.55
Rank movement Down 514 places
2020
#2,394
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,879
-1,502 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 4.98
Rank movement Down 168 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,712 | 19,222 | 7.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,226 | 16,381 | 5.55 | -2,841 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 514 places |
| 2020 | #2,394 | 14,879 | 4.98 | -1,502 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 168 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 Ring 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 | #2,226 | #2,394 | -7.5% |
| Count | 16,381 | 14,879 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 5.55 | 4.98 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ring bearers went from 16,381 to 14,879 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 168 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,226 to #2,394.
FAQ
Ring surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ring?
Name Census estimates that about 17,062 living Americans carry the surname Ring. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,089 residents.
How common is Ring?
Ring ranks #2,394 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,879 people with the surname Ring. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,062), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Ring.
Has Ring become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ring went from 16,381 recorded bearers to 14,879. That is a decrease of 1,502 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,226 to #2,394.
What does the Census say about the background of Ring?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ring, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Ring in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (13,301 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ring appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Ring (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 Ring mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of rings, or a nickname for someone who wore rings. 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 Ring (4.98 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 Ring?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.