2000
#2,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,575
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.29
Uncommon Last name
Rains
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a boundary or strip of land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,929 Americans carry the last name Rains. That puts it at #3,113 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,511 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rains 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 Rains with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,511
Census rank
#3,113
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,275 bearers of the surname Rains in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3113th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rains, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rains
The surname Rains is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "regn" meaning "rain" or "rainy". This surname first emerged in the early medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century, and was likely a descriptive name given to someone who lived in a particularly rainy area or was associated with rain in some way.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rains can be traced back to the 13th century in various English records and chronicles. One notable example is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1230, which mentions a person named William Rains. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contains references to individuals with the surname Rains, such as John le Rains and Robert Rains.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, where a Thomas Rains is listed. The Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1334 for Warwickshire also record a Richard Rains. These early records suggest that the Rains surname was well-established in various parts of England by this time.
One of the earliest known instances of the name Rains in a place name context can be found in the village of Rainhill in Merseyside, formerly known as Rainshill or Raynhill in the 13th century. This place name likely derived from the Old English words "regn" and "hyll", meaning "rainy hill".
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Rains. One example is Thomas Rains (c. 1590-1670), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire during the English Civil War. Another prominent figure was John Rains (1670-1744), a British naval officer who served as a captain in the Royal Navy and was involved in several battles against the French and Spanish fleets.
Other individuals with the surname Rains include Sir Gabriel Rains (1803-1881), a British military engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of coastal defense systems and fortifications. James Rains (1833-1895) was an American Confederate officer during the American Civil War, serving as a brigadier general in the Army of Northern Virginia.
In more recent times, Clarence Rains (1888-1967) was an American actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows, including his notable role as Senator Fredric Munson in the classic movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rains
Among Census respondents with the surname Rains, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Rains 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 Rains surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 9,815
- Two or more races4.8% · 539
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 463
- Black or African American2.3% · 258
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 69
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rains
Rains 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
#3,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,737
+162 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Down 213 places
2020
#3,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,275
-462 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 3.77
Rank movement Down 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,842 | 11,575 | 4.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,055 | 11,737 | 3.98 | +162 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 213 places |
| 2020 | #3,113 | 11,275 | 3.77 | -462 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 58 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 Rains 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 | #3,055 | #3,113 | -1.9% |
| Count | 11,737 | 11,275 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.98 | 3.77 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rains bearers went from 11,737 to 11,275 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,055 to #3,113.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rains
FAQ
Rains surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rains?
Name Census estimates that about 12,929 living Americans carry the surname Rains. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,511 residents.
How common is Rains?
Rains ranks #3,113 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,275 people with the surname Rains. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,929), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Rains.
Has Rains become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rains went from 11,737 recorded bearers to 11,275. That is a decrease of 462 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,055 to #3,113.
What does the Census say about the background of Rains?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rains, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Hispanic (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 Rains in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (9,815 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rains appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Two or More Races (4.8%), Hispanic (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 Rains (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 Rains mean?
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a boundary or strip of land. 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 Rains (3.77 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 last name Rains?
You can see how common the surname Rains is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.