Explore the Family Name Ran

The meaning of Ran

1. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 冉, meaning ‘drooping tenderly’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the placename Ran (冉), the name of a fief (located in present-day Kaifeng in Henan province) granted to Ji Zai, one of the sons of King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC). (ii) from Shu Shan Ran (叔山冉), an official in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). His descendants inherited 冉, part of his name, as their surname. 2. The Japanese pronunciation of Chinese Lan. Bearers of these names in Japan must be assumed to be immigrant Chinese. 3. English: variant of Rand.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Ran has significantly increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Ran was ranked 45,909th in terms of surname frequency but by 2010 it had surged to the 31,724th position, marking a jump of approximately 30.9%. Similarly, the count of individuals with the Ran surname grew by over 66% during this period, from 438 in 2000 to 728 in 2010. This increase also resulted in a rise in the proportion of the surname per 100,000 people, which went up by 56.25%, from 0.16 in 2000 to 0.25 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#45,909#31,72430.9%
Count43872866.21%
Proportion per 100k0.160.2556.25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ran

Regarding the ethnicity of individuals with the surname Ran, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the Asian/Pacific Islander group formed the largest portion in both 2000 and 2010, increasing from 55.25% to 60.58% over the decade. The percentage of those identifying as White decreased slightly from 30.82% to 27.34%. The Hispanic population saw a modest growth of 20.2%, while the Black community experienced a significant rise of 84.38%. However, there was no data available for those identifying as two or more races or American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2010, as these figures were suppressed for privacy reasons.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander55.25%60.58%9.65%
White30.82%27.34%-11.29%
Black3.65%6.73%84.38%
Hispanic2.97%3.57%20.2%
Two or More Races7.31%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%