2000
#99,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 168
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Raymaker
A surname derived from an Old English word meaning "maker of rays" or "beam maker."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 208 Americans carry the last name Raymaker. That puts it at #105,198 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,647,857 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Raymaker 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
208
1 in 1,647,857
Census rank
#105,198
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
181
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 181 bearers of the surname Raymaker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 105198th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Raymaker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Raymaker
The surname Raymaker has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be an occupational name derived from the Dutch words "ray" and "maker," referring to someone who produced or sold rays, which were a type of woolen cloth.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Raymaker can be found in Dutch municipal records from the late 1500s. In 1582, a merchant named Jacob Raymaker was mentioned in the town records of Amsterdam. Another notable early bearer of the name was Pieter Raymaker, a textile manufacturer from Utrecht, who lived in the early 1600s.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Raymaker surname was particularly prevalent in the provinces of South Holland and Utrecht, where many families were involved in the textile trade. One prominent figure from this era was Johannes Raymaker (1632-1701), a successful merchant and alderman in Rotterdam.
As the Dutch established colonies in the Americas, some Raymakers emigrated to the New World. In 1657, a man named Dirck Raymaker was listed among the early settlers of New Amsterdam (now New York City). Another early American bearer of the name was Hendrik Raymaker, who arrived in Pennsylvania from the Netherlands in 1683.
Other notable individuals with the surname Raymaker include:
1. Gerrit Raymaker (1768-1842), a Dutch painter known for his landscape and maritime scenes.
2. Willem Raymaker (1810-1879), a Dutch architect who designed several notable buildings in Amsterdam.
3. Cornelis Raymaker (1825-1892), a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Rotterdam from 1868 to 1892.
4. Johanna Raymaker (1856-1924), a Dutch women's rights activist and one of the first female lawyers in the Netherlands.
5. Pieter Raymaker (1891-1962), a Dutch novelist and poet who wrote several acclaimed works exploring life in rural Netherlands.
While the name Raymaker has its roots in the textile industry of the Low Countries, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and migration. However, its origins and connection to the Dutch language and culture remain an integral part of its history and meaning.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raymaker
Among Census respondents with the surname Raymaker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Raymaker 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 Raymaker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 167
- Two or more races5.0% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Raymaker
Raymaker 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
#99,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 181
+13 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#105,198
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 181
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 5,353 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #99,725 | 168 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #99,845 | 181 | 0.06 | +13 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #105,198 | 181 | 0.06 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 5,353 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 Raymaker 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 | #99,845 | #105,198 | -5.4% |
| Count | 181 | 181 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Raymaker bearers went from 181 to 181 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 5,353 positions in the national ranking, going from #99,845 to #105,198.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Raymaker
FAQ
Raymaker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Raymaker?
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the surname Raymaker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,647,857 residents.
How common is Raymaker?
Raymaker ranks #105,198 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 181 people with the surname Raymaker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (208), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Raymaker.
Has Raymaker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Raymaker went from 181 recorded bearers to 181. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #99,845 to #105,198.
What does the Census say about the background of Raymaker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Raymaker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Raymaker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (167 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Raymaker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (5.0%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Raymaker (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 Raymaker mean?
A surname derived from an Old English word meaning "maker of rays" or "beam maker." 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 Raymaker (0.06 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 Raymaker?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.