2000
#23,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,006
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.37
Rare Last name
Rimes
A French surname derived from the word "rime" meaning poem or rhyme.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,234 Americans carry the last name Rimes. That puts it at #24,261 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 277,759 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rimes 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 Rimes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.2K
1 in 277,759
Census rank
#24,261
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,076 bearers of the surname Rimes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24261st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rimes
The surname Rimes has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "rym," which means "rim" or "border." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone living near a border or boundary.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, where a William Rymes is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls were a series of administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Rymmes, Rymys, and Rymis, reflecting the variations in spelling common during that time period. The Rimes family is also mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, indicating their presence in that region.
During the 16th century, the name Rimes began to appear more frequently in parish records and other historical documents. In 1548, a John Rimes was recorded as a resident of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of the renowned playwright William Shakespeare.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Rimes include Thomas Rimes (1565-1642), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Pembroke College, Oxford. Another noteworthy figure was Sir Gabriel Rimes (1598-1677), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament who played a role in the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, the Rimes family had connections to the village of Rothwell in Northamptonshire. A prominent member of the family was John Rimes (1737-1805), a landowner and Justice of the Peace in Rothwell.
Throughout the 19th century, the name Rimes continued to appear in various regions of England, with individuals such as William Rimes (1809-1892), a farmer from Nottinghamshire, and Samuel Rimes (1828-1901), a businessman from Gloucestershire.
It is worth noting that while the surname Rimes is not among the most common surnames in England, it has a rich history and can be traced back through several centuries of records and historical accounts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rimes
Among Census respondents with the surname Rimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rimes 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 Rimes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.9% · 881
- Black or African American9.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 50
- Two or more races4.0% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rimes
Rimes 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
#23,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,108
+102 bearers (+10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Up 465 places
2020
#24,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,076
-32 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Down 1,196 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,530 | 1,006 | 0.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,065 | 1,108 | 0.38 | +102 bearers (+10.1%) | Up 465 places |
| 2020 | #24,261 | 1,076 | 0.36 | -32 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 1,196 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 Rimes 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 | #23,065 | #24,261 | -5.2% |
| Count | 1,108 | 1,076 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.38 | 0.36 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rimes bearers went from 1,108 to 1,076 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 1,196 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,065 to #24,261.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rimes
FAQ
Rimes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rimes?
Name Census estimates that about 1,234 living Americans carry the surname Rimes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 277,759 residents.
How common is Rimes?
Rimes ranks #24,261 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.36 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 1,076 people with the surname Rimes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,234), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.36 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 Rimes.
Has Rimes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rimes went from 1,108 recorded bearers to 1,076. That is a decrease of 32 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #23,065 to #24,261.
What does the Census say about the background of Rimes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rimes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (881 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rimes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.9%), Black (9.0%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Rimes (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 Rimes mean?
A French surname derived from the word "rime" meaning poem or rhyme. 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 Rimes (0.36 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 Americans have the surname Rimes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.