2000
#14,370
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,910
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Red
A surname derived from the color red, possibly indicating a person with reddish hair or complexion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,331 Americans carry the last name Red. That puts it at #14,176 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 147,042 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Red 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 Red with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 147,042
Census rank
#14,176
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,033 bearers of the surname Red in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14176th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Red, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Red
The surname RED is an English habitational name derived from the Old English word 'read', meaning red. It likely originated as a descriptive for someone who lived near a prominent red-colored landmark or terrain feature.
The earliest known recorded instances of the surname RED date back to the late 12th century in various English county records. One of the earliest bearers was William le Red, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1191.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, listing a Richard le Red in 1273. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275 also recorded a William le Red.
An early holder of the surname was Sir Adam Red, a Scottish knight who fought alongside William Wallace in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th century.
The name RED is found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, with listings such as Radulfus Rufus (Ralph the Red) in Derbyshire and Godricus Russatus (Godric the Red) in Oxfordshire.
Notable bearers of the surname RED throughout history include John Red (c. 1496-1558), an English Protestant martyr burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions; William Red (c. 1510-1568), an English Roman Catholic priest and martyr; Richard Red (c. 1620-1695), an English puritan minister and author; and George Red (1782-1848), a Scottish painter known for his landscape works.
In the 19th century, John Red (1819-1892) was a prominent English civil engineer who designed several notable bridges and railway lines across Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Red
Among Census respondents with the surname Red, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Red 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 Red surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.7% · 1,051
- Black or African American23.5% · 477
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.3% · 210
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 147
- Two or more races6.0% · 122
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Red
Red 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
#16,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,697
-213 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 2,454 places
2020
#14,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,033
+336 bearers (+19.8%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Up 2,648 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,370 | 1,910 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,824 | 1,697 | 0.58 | -213 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 2,454 places |
| 2020 | #14,176 | 2,033 | 0.68 | +336 bearers (+19.8%) | Up 2,648 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 Red 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 | #16,824 | #14,176 | 15.7% |
| Count | 1,697 | 2,033 | 19.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.68 | 17.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Red bearers went from 1,697 to 2,033 (+19.8% change). The surname moved up 2,648 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,824 to #14,176.
FAQ
Red surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Red?
Name Census estimates that about 2,331 living Americans carry the surname Red. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 147,042 residents.
How common is Red?
Red ranks #14,176 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 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 2,033 people with the surname Red. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,331), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 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 Red.
Has Red become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Red went from 1,697 recorded bearers to 2,033. That is an increase of 336 (+19.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,824 to #14,176.
What does the Census say about the background of Red?
Among Census respondents with the surname Red, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%). 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 Red in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.7% (1,051 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Red appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.7%), Black (23.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%). 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 Red (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 Red mean?
A surname derived from the color red, possibly indicating a person with reddish hair or complexion. 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 Red (0.68 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 Red?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Red at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.