The Ratliff surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 30,083 people carried this name — #1,168 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,800 people counted. That is up 3% from 29,142 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

23 families named Ratliff, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 121 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 15
Maryland 6
Pennsylvania 1
Virginia 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 258 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Ratliff in American newspapers,
1907.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Ratliff
The Washington Times 1907-06-02
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Ratliff
The Washington Times 1907-06-07
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Ratliff
The Washington Times 1907-05-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 23,132 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Ratliff in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1950s.

948 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ratliff. The most, 205, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 896
Queensland 22
South Australia 8
Victoria 7
ACT (Canberra) 5
Tasmania 5
Northern Territory 2
Western Australia 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ratliff.

Who carried it

People named Ratliff,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bill Ratliff
    Bill Ratliff 1936–2025 · engineer
  • Walter Stevens Ratliff 1860–1941 · writer
  • Zacariah Small Ratliff 1862– · politician
  • Alice Baker 1867–1967 · merchant
  • A. H. C. Ratliff 1921–2014 · physician
  • Elizabeth Ratliff 1942–1985

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Ratliff,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,252 records

1,252 records of the Ratliff name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 970
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 237
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 16
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 10
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Franklin Delano Ratliff

    Born 1948; from Chattanooga, Tennessee. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Marvin J. Ratliff

    Born 1913 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Oklahoma City; mechanic from Mc Clain County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Hogan Cemetery, Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Richard Ratliff

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the Ethiopia from Glasgow and Moville, aged 25; groom. From Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,252 records for Ratliff in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia7 records

7 records of the Ratliff name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Dale Checkly Ratliff

    Teacher of North Carlton, Victoria; died 1990.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Elizabeth Ratliff

    Born 1859 in Deloraine, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record J. H. Ratliff

    Of Gocup near Tumut, New South Wales; died 1916.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Ratliff in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Ratliff name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Frank Hayt Ratliff

    Born 1923 in the United States; died 1997 in Quetigny (Côte-d'Or).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Ratliff.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Ratliff 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.

See the Ratliff volume
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