The Rana surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,145 people carried this name — #4,923 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 41,300 people counted. That is up 84% from 3,875 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Rana surname
From rana (“frog”), a nickname for a person with bulging eyes or a croaky voice.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rana» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 576 people named Rana 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.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
179 people named Rana live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 156 people named Rana 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 Limburg.
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 52 people named Rana.
26 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 12 départements, most often Aude.
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 the Nordic population registers
710 people named Rana are counted in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Rana in American newspapers,
1897–1918.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 91,956 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Rana,
with a public archive behind them.
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Sohel Rana 1947– · actor -
Sohel Rana 1947– · actor
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Sohel Rana 1947– · actor
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B.S. Rana d. 2019 · actor
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Carlo Andrea Rana 1715–1804 · architect
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Akrur N. Rana 1934– · badminton player
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rana.
- Ramont 125 · U.S. census
- Ramos 263,464 · U.S. census
- Ramponi 212 · U.S. census
- Rams 296 · U.S. census
- Ramseyer 960 · U.S. census
- Ramus 557 · U.S. census
- Ranaldi 186 · U.S. census
- Rance 957 · U.S. census
- Rancher 249 · U.S. census
- Rancier 181 · U.S. census
- Randazzo 7,190 · U.S. census
- Randon 405 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rana 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.