2000
#2,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,265
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.18
Uncommon Last name
Rawls
Derived from the Norman French name "Raoul," meaning "wolf counsel" or "wise wolf."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,996 Americans carry the last name Rawls. That puts it at #3,095 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rawls 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
13K
1 in 26,374
Census rank
#3,095
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,333 bearers of the surname Rawls in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3095th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawls, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Black (41.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rawls
The surname Rawls has its origins in Old English and is derived from the word "raw," which means "row" or "line." It is thought to have originated as a surname in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Northumberland, during the 12th and 13th centuries.
The name Rawls is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive name, referring to someone who lived along a row of houses or a particular line of habitation. It may have also been used to refer to a person who lived near a boundary line or a ridge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rawls can be found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a Thomas Rawls is mentioned. The name also appears in the Inquisitiones Post Mortem records for Yorkshire in the 14th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Rawls was sometimes spelled as "Rawles" or "Rawlins." These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling before standardization.
Notable individuals with the surname Rawls include John Rawls (1921-2002), an influential American philosopher known for his theory of justice as fairness. Another prominent figure is Beverly Rawls (1938-2005), an American baseball player who played for the Kansas City Royals and the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the realm of literature, the name Rawls is associated with the American novelist Winston Groom (1944-2020), best known for his novel "Forrest Gump." Groom's full name was Winston Groom Rawls.
The name Rawls also had historical connections to place names in England. For instance, there was a village called Rawlins Cross in Derbyshire, which was mentioned in records from the 16th century.
Another notable individual with the surname Rawls was Robert Rawls (1833-1918), an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of Missouri from 1869 to 1871.
Throughout its history, the surname Rawls has maintained a strong presence in various regions of England, particularly in the northern counties, and has been carried to other parts of the world through migration and exploration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rawls
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawls, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Black (41.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rawls 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 Rawls surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.3% · 5,700
- Black or African American41.1% · 4,663
- Two or more races4.8% · 542
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 339
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rawls
Rawls 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
#3,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,679
+414 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 3.96
Rank movement Down 141 places
2020
#3,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,333
-346 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 3.79
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,933 | 11,265 | 4.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,074 | 11,679 | 3.96 | +414 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 141 places |
| 2020 | #3,095 | 11,333 | 3.79 | -346 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 21 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 Rawls 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 | #3,074 | #3,095 | -0.7% |
| Count | 11,679 | 11,333 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.96 | 3.79 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rawls bearers went from 11,679 to 11,333 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,074 to #3,095.
FAQ
Rawls surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rawls?
Name Census estimates that about 12,996 living Americans carry the surname Rawls. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,374 residents.
How common is Rawls?
Rawls ranks #3,095 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.79 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 11,333 people with the surname Rawls. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,996), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.79 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 Rawls.
Has Rawls become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rawls went from 11,679 recorded bearers to 11,333. That is a decrease of 346 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,074 to #3,095.
What does the Census say about the background of Rawls?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rawls, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Black (41.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Rawls in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.3% (5,700 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rawls appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (50.3%), Black (41.1%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Rawls (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 Rawls mean?
Derived from the Norman French name "Raoul," meaning "wolf counsel" or "wise wolf." 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 Rawls (3.79 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 Rawls?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Rawls is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.