The Rai surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,295 people carried this name — #6,418 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 55,600 people counted. That is up 151% from 2,106 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Rai surname
Indian/Hindi surname, from a personal name based on the noun राजा (rājā, “king”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rai» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 170 people named Rai live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in West Flanders.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
101 people named Rai live in Switzerland.
They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 93 people named Rai.
27 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 15 départements, most often French Polynesia.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
21 people named Rai have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 828 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 4 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
144 people named Rai is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Rai in American newspapers,
1906–1926.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,057,157 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Rai,
with a public archive behind them.
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Rai Mikisaburō 1825–1859 · calligrapher -
Bina Rai 1931–2009 · actor -
Bina Rai 1931–2009 · actor
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Bina Rai 1931–2009 · actor
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Rai 1930– · badminton player
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Fred Rai 1941–2015 · singer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rai.
- Ragusa 2,528 · U.S. census
- Rahal 614 · U.S. census
- Rahier 210 · U.S. census
- Rahim 2,601 · U.S. census
- Rahm 1,624 · U.S. census
- Rahmani 1,056 · U.S. census
- Raia 1,559 · U.S. census
- Raimond 182 · U.S. census
- Raimondi 2,418 · U.S. census
- Raimondo 819 · U.S. census
- Rain 915 · U.S. census
- Raina 641 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rai is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.