Explore the Family Name Rhett

The meaning of Rhett

Altered form of an unidentified, presumably English surname. History: This name was brought to North America in 1694 by William Rhett (1666–1723). Robert Barnwell Rhett (1800–76) was a SC congressman and senator, a noted secessionist.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname 'Rhett' has slightly increased in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was the 27,344th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had moved up to the 26,422nd spot, a change of 3.37%. In terms of count, there has been an increase of 11.19% with the number of people bearing the surname 'Rhett' rising from 831 in 2000 to 924 in 2010. However, the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 remained constant at 0.31.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#27,344	#26,422	3.37%
Count	831	924	11.19%
Proportion per 100k	0.31	0.31	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rhett

When it comes to ethnicity, again according to the Decennial U.S. Census, there have been certain shifts observed between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of holders of the 'Rhett' surname who identify as Black has marginally risen from 59.33% to 60.71%, a change of 2.33%. Those identifying as White saw a decrease from 35.62% to 33.44%, a drop of -6.12%. Interestingly, those who identified with two or more races grew by 25.41%, from 1.81% to 2.27%. There was also an increase among those who identify as Hispanic, from 2.53% to 3.35%, a rise of 32.41%. No data was recorded for individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	59.33%	60.71%	2.33%
White	35.62%	33.44%	-6.12%
Hispanic	2.53%	3.35%	32.41%
Two or More Races	1.81%	2.27%	25.41%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%