The Rais surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 471 people carried this name — #45,412 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 625,000 people counted. That is up 23% from 383 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Rais surname
A male surname from German.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rais» (Czech), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
531 people named Rais live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Jura.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 137 people named Rais.
Most of them — 84 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 19 départements, most often Drôme.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 105 people named Rais 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 Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 98 people named Rais live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
55 people named Rais have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 99 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 3 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
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
53 people named Rais 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).
Who carried it
People named Rais,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Karel Václav Rais 1859–1926 · writer -
Antonín Rais 1861–1920 · teacher
-
Jules Rais 1872–1943 · writer
-
Albert Rais 1888–1973 · judge
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Heinrich Rais 1893–1945 · civil servant
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Heinrich Rais 1893–1945 · civil servant
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rais.
- Raina 641 · U.S. census
- Raine 2,109 · U.S. census
- Raineri 626 · U.S. census
- Rainero 151 · U.S. census
- Rainville 2,236 · U.S. census
- Raiola 281 · U.S. census
- Raison 375 · U.S. census
- Raja 2,593 · U.S. census
- Raji 422 · U.S. census
- Rak 1,332 · U.S. census
- Rakowski 2,092 · U.S. census
- Rallo 717 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rais 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.