2000
#12,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,382
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Ringo
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold rings or circular objects.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,679 Americans carry the last name Ringo. That puts it at #12,618 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 127,941 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ringo 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
2.7K
1 in 127,941
Census rank
#12,618
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,336 bearers of the surname Ringo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12618th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ringo, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (30.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ringo
The surname RINGO has its origins in the English county of Yorkshire, where it first emerged in the early 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "ring" and "hoga," meaning "a dweller at the ring-shaped hill or mound."
During the medieval period, RINGO was predominantly found in the Yorkshire Dales, particularly in the villages and hamlets around the market town of Skipton. The earliest known record of the name appears in the Wakefield Court Rolls of 1275, where a certain Willelmus Ryngho is mentioned.
By the 14th century, various spellings of the name had emerged, including Ryngo, Ryngho, and Ryngowe. In the Subsidy Rolls of 1379, a John Ryngowe is listed as a taxpayer in the village of Embsay, near Skipton.
The RINGO surname is notably absent from the Domesday Book of 1086, suggesting that the name originated after the Norman Conquest of England. However, it is possible that the name's roots can be traced back to the pre-Conquest period, as many English surnames evolved from descriptive nicknames or placenames during the 11th and 12th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the RINGO surname was William Ryngho, who was born in the village of Grassington in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in the Kirkby Malhamdale Court Rolls of 1301 as a freeholder in the nearby village of Linton.
Another notable figure was John Ryngowe, a wool merchant from Skipton who lived in the mid-15th century. He is recorded in the Skipton Parish Registers of 1457 as having made a substantial donation towards the construction of the town's church spire.
In the 16th century, the RINGO surname began to spread beyond Yorkshire, with families bearing the name appearing in the neighboring counties of Lancashire and Derbyshire. One such individual was Thomas Ryngowe, a yeoman farmer from the village of Mellor in Derbyshire, who is mentioned in the Wills and Inventories of 1583.
The 17th century saw the emergence of a prominent RINGO family in the city of York. Richard Ringo, born in 1625, was a successful merchant and alderman who served as Lord Mayor of York in 1684. His grandson, also named Richard Ringo (1670-1741), followed in his footsteps and became a respected figure in the city's civic affairs.
As the centuries progressed, the RINGO surname continued to be found across various parts of northern England, with families bearing the name making their mark in various professions and walks of life.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ringo
Among Census respondents with the surname Ringo, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (30.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ringo 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 Ringo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.9% · 1,376
- Black or African American30.5% · 713
- Two or more races4.7% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ringo
Ringo 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
#12,025
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,596
+214 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 7 places
2020
#12,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,336
-260 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 593 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,032 | 2,382 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,025 | 2,596 | 0.88 | +214 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 7 places |
| 2020 | #12,618 | 2,336 | 0.78 | -260 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 593 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 Ringo 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 | #12,025 | #12,618 | -4.9% |
| Count | 2,596 | 2,336 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.78 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ringo bearers went from 2,596 to 2,336 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 593 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,025 to #12,618.
FAQ
Ringo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ringo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,679 living Americans carry the surname Ringo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 127,941 residents.
How common is Ringo?
Ringo ranks #12,618 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,336 people with the surname Ringo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,679), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Ringo.
Has Ringo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ringo went from 2,596 recorded bearers to 2,336. That is a decrease of 260 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,025 to #12,618.
What does the Census say about the background of Ringo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ringo, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (30.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ringo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.9% (1,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ringo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.9%), Black (30.5%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ringo (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 Ringo mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold rings or circular objects. 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 Ringo (0.78 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 Ringo?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Ringo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.