2000
#52,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 372
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Reedus
An English surname derived from the Old English words "read" meaning red and "hus" meaning house, denoting a person who lived in a red house.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 490 Americans carry the last name Reedus. That puts it at #52,477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 699,499 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reedus 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
490
1 in 699,499
Census rank
#52,477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
427
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 427 bearers of the surname Reedus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 52477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reedus, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.6%. The next largest groups are White (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reedus
The surname REEDUS is of English origin, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th century. It derives from the Old English word "reed," referring to the tall, slender grass-like plant that thrives in wetland areas. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near reed beds or marshes.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Reedus," "Redus," and "Redeys" in various historical records from regions like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk, where reed beds were abundant. It was often associated with occupations such as reed thatchers or basket weavers who worked with reeds.
One of the earliest known bearers of the REEDUS name was William Redus, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1327. Another early record is John Redeys, documented in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1379.
The name REEDUS can be traced back to places like Reedham in Norfolk, which was recorded as "Redeham" in the Domesday Book of 1086, indicating the presence of the surname's root word in place names.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the REEDUS surname, including:
1. Sir George REEDUS (1551-1623), an English merchant and diplomat who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1607.
2. John REEDUS (1610-1678), an English Puritan minister and author known for his work "The Soul's Conflict."
3. Mary REEDUS (1728-1814), a British entrepreneur and philanthropist who established a successful textile business in Manchester.
4. William REEDUS (1807-1885), an English architect renowned for his work on several churches and public buildings in London.
5. James REEDUS (1865-1941), a British military officer who served in the Boer War and World War I, receiving the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery.
The REEDUS surname has endured through the centuries, carrying the linguistic heritage of Old English and the legacy of those who lived and worked in the reed-rich landscapes of Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reedus
Among Census respondents with the surname Reedus, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.6%. The next largest groups are White (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Reedus 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 Reedus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.6% · 340
- White9.6% · 41
- Two or more races6.6% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reedus
Reedus 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
#47,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 450
+78 bearers (+21.0%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 5,217 places
2020
#52,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 427
-23 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 5,291 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #52,403 | 372 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #47,186 | 450 | 0.15 | +78 bearers (+21.0%) | Up 5,217 places |
| 2020 | #52,477 | 427 | 0.14 | -23 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 5,291 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 Reedus 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 | #47,186 | #52,477 | -11.2% |
| Count | 450 | 427 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.14 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reedus bearers went from 450 to 427 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 5,291 positions in the national ranking, going from #47,186 to #52,477.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Reedus
FAQ
Reedus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reedus?
Name Census estimates that about 490 living Americans carry the surname Reedus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 699,499 residents.
How common is Reedus?
Reedus ranks #52,477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 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 427 people with the surname Reedus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (490), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 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 Reedus.
Has Reedus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reedus went from 450 recorded bearers to 427. That is a decrease of 23 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #47,186 to #52,477.
What does the Census say about the background of Reedus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reedus, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.6%. The next largest groups are White (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Reedus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (340 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reedus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (79.6%), White (9.6%), Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Reedus (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 Reedus mean?
An English surname derived from the Old English words "read" meaning red and "hus" meaning house, denoting a person who lived in a red house. 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 Reedus (0.14 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 Reedus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.