Explore the Family Name Railsback

The meaning of Railsback

Altered form of German Railsbach, a habitational name, probably a shortened form of Raigelsbach, from Middle High German reigel ‘heron’ + bach ‘stream, creek’; or an altered form of Reulbach, a habitational name from a place so named in the Rhön Mountains in Hesse.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Railsback in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Railsback has seen a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the rank of the Railsback surname was 23,547, dropping to 24,260 in 2010, showing a decrease of 3.03%. However, it's interesting to note that the count of individuals with this surname actually increased from 1,005 in 2000 to 1,034 in 2010, an increase of 2.89%, but not enough to improve its ranking. The proportion per 100,000 also slightly dropped by 5.41%.

20002010Change
Rank#23,547#24,260-3.03%
Count1,0051,0342.89%
Proportion per 100k0.370.35-5.41%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Railsback

In relation to the ethnic identity associated with the Railsback surname, the data derived from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some changes between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals bearing this surname identified as White, making up 95.82% in 2000 and slightly decreasing to 95.36% in 2010. The Hispanic group saw a growth of 20.10%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native category witnessed a significant increase of 74.00%. There were no recorded individuals who identified as Black or Asian/Pacific Islander in 2000, however, by 2010, there was a small percentage (0.77%) who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander. Conversely, those identifying as two or more races dropped to zero in 2010 from a small representation in 2000.

20002010Change
White95.82%95.36%-0.48%
Hispanic2.09%2.51%20.1%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.5%0.87%74%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0.77%0%
Two or More Races1.19%0%0%
Black0%0%0%