# Rye (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Norse |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,079 |
| US rank (2010) | 8,128 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 75,691 people |
| Change since 2000 | -1.0% (4,120 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Reay |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, variant of Rea. * Also as an English surname, from the noun rye. * As a Norwegian surname, from several farmsteads whose name derive from Old Norse rjóðr (“forest clearing”); see the verb ryðja (“to clear”). * As a Danish surname, from the town Ry in Skanderbord. * The town in England is perhaps derived from Old English riþ (“river, stream”) whence also rith; compare ree.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Rye 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) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Similar surnames

Ryu, Raye, Roye, Ray, Rowe, Roy, Roe, Rea, Rao, Rau, Rey, Rhea.

## 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.