2000
#825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,158
First available Census row
Per 100,000 14.15
Uncommon Last name
Raymond
A French topographical surname for someone living near a place where counsels or decisions were made.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 44,006 Americans carry the last name Raymond. That puts it at #894 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 12.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,789 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Raymond 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 Raymond with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
44K
1 in 7,789
Census rank
#894
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
12.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
38K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 38,375 bearers of the surname Raymond in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 12.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 894th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Raymond, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Raymond
The surname RAYMOND originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Raimund or Raimundus, which is composed of the elements "ragin" meaning counsel or advice, and "mund" meaning protection. The name was introduced into France by the Franks and later became popular among the Normans.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname RAYMOND can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Raimund" and refers to landowners of Norman descent.
In the 12th century, the name RAYMOND gained prominence through figures like Raymond of Toulouse (c. 1042-1105), a prominent leader of the First Crusade, and Raymond IV, Count of Barcelona (c. 1092-1162), who played a significant role in the Reconquista of Spain from the Moors.
The RAYMOND surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Raymond Lully (c. 1232-1315), a Majorcan philosopher, logician, and writer, who is credited with introducing Arabic numerals and the concept of computation to Europe.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Raymond Berengar IV (c. 1198-1245), Count of Provence, who was instrumental in the spread of courtly love and troubadour culture in southern France. His daughter, Beatrice of Provence, married Charles I of Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily.
During the Renaissance, the RAYMOND surname was carried by Raymond de Sébonde (c. 1385-1436), a Spanish philosopher and theologian whose work influenced renowned thinkers like Michel de Montaigne and René Descartes.
In more recent times, the name has been associated with individuals such as Raymond Aron (1905-1983), a prominent French philosopher and sociologist, and Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), an American novelist and screenwriter famous for his hard-boiled detective fiction.
The surname RAYMOND has also been linked to various place names throughout Europe, including the town of Raymond in France, the village of Raymond in Belgium, and the village of Raymond in Quebec, Canada, which was named after a prominent settler.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raymond
Among Census respondents with the surname Raymond, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Raymond 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 Raymond surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.5% · 28,965
- Black or African American14.2% · 5,441
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 1,575
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,484
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 600
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 310
Timeline
Historical Census data for Raymond
Raymond 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
#857
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,275
+2,117 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 13.65
Rank movement Down 32 places
2020
#894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,375
-1,900 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 12.84
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #825 | 38,158 | 14.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #857 | 40,275 | 13.65 | +2,117 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 32 places |
| 2020 | #894 | 38,375 | 12.84 | -1,900 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 37 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 Raymond 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 | #857 | #894 | -4.3% |
| Count | 40,275 | 38,375 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 13.65 | 12.84 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Raymond bearers went from 40,275 to 38,375 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #857 to #894.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Raymond
FAQ
Raymond surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Raymond?
Name Census estimates that about 44,006 living Americans carry the surname Raymond. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,789 residents.
How common is Raymond?
Raymond ranks #894 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 12.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 38,375 people with the surname Raymond. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (44,006), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 12.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 12.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Raymond.
Has Raymond become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Raymond went from 40,275 recorded bearers to 38,375. That is a decrease of 1,900 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #857 to #894.
What does the Census say about the background of Raymond?
Among Census respondents with the surname Raymond, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) 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 Raymond in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (28,965 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Raymond appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.5%), Black (14.2%), 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 Raymond (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 Raymond mean?
A French topographical surname for someone living near a place where counsels or decisions were made. 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 Raymond (12.84 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 Raymond?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.