# Ramsey (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/ramsey/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English from the town in Huntingdonshire.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 78,350 |
| US rank (2010) | 412 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,941 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.3% (76,625 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹæmzi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Ramsay |

## Etymology

From Old English hramsa (“wild garlic”) + īeġ (“island”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Ramsey in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 78% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 17% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Ramsey in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Ramsey

- Norman Foster Ramsey, American physicist (1915–2011)
- Bella Ramsey, British actor
- Anne Ramsey, American actress (1929-1988)
- David Ramsey, American actor
- Laura Ramsey, American actress
- Marion Ramsey, American actress (1947–2021)
- Wes Ramsey, American actor
- Mason Ramsey, American singer, born 2006
- Frank Ramsey, American basketball player (1931-2018)
- Alexander Ramsey, American politician (1815-1903)
- Peter Ramsey, American film director
- Jalen Ramsey, American football player (born 1994)

and 11 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Ramos, Ramsay, Rumsey, Reams, Reames, Ramus, Ramage, Ramesh, Reynoso, Raines, Ring, Rains.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.