How common is the surname Rainbow?

559 people in the United States had the surname Rainbow in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 552,318 Americans. It ranked 39,352nd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Rainbow?

In the 2010 Census, 74% of people named Rainbow identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as American Indian and Alaska Native.

Who is the most famous person named Rainbow?

William Joseph Rainbow, Australian arachnologist (1856–1919).

Where is the surname Rainbow most common?

Wikidata records people named Rainbow in Australia.

Is the surname Rainbow getting more or less common?

More common. 551 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 559 in 2010, up 1.5%.

The surname Rainbow

A surname, carried by 559 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex R510

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Rainbow is more common than 75.7% of them.

Origin

Two main origins: * From an altered form of the Old French personal name Rainbaut, which is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements *raginą (“advice, counsel”) and *balþaz (“strong, bold”). * Translation of German Regenbogen, a Jewish Ashkenazi ornamental surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 559 people named Rainbow in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 552,318 Americans. That is up 1.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 551.

#39,352

rank among US surnames

559

people in 2010

0.2

per 100,000 Americans

+1.5%

change since 2000 (was #37,881)

Who is named Rainbow

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

74% of people named Rainbow identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as American Indian and Alaska Native and 8.1% as Black (not Hispanic).

White (not Hispanic) 74%
American Indian and Alaska Native 11%
Black (not Hispanic) 8.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.3%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Asian & Pacific Islander, Multiracial are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Rainbows

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

William Joseph Rainbow
Australian arachnologist (1856–1919)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Rainbow

Rambo

Rainbow has the Soundex code R510, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R510.

Questions

Where does the surname Rainbow come from?: Two main origins: * From an altered form of the Old French personal name Rainbaut, which is composed of the Proto-Germanic elements *raginą (“advice, counsel”) and *balþaz (“strong, bold”). * Translation of German Regenbogen, a Jewish Ashkenazi ornamental surname.
How common is the surname Rainbow?: 559 people in the United States had the surname Rainbow in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 552,318 Americans. It ranked 39,352nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Rainbow?: In the 2010 Census, 74% of people named Rainbow identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as American Indian and Alaska Native.
Who is the most famous person named Rainbow?: William Joseph Rainbow, Australian arachnologist (1856–1919).
Where is the surname Rainbow most common?: Wikidata records people named Rainbow in Australia.
Is the surname Rainbow getting more or less common?: More common. 551 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 559 in 2010, up 1.5%.