The Rau surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 8,208 people carried this name — #3,975 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 32,900 people counted.
Free to read. No account, no sign-up.
In Poland’s population register
453 people named Rau have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 544 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 14 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
415 people named Rau live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 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 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 259 people named Rau.
52 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 30 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 136 people named Rau 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.
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.
Who carried it
People named Rau,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Johannes Jacobus Rau 1668–1719 · physician -
Sebald Rau 1721–1818 · writer -
Christian Rau 1744–1818 · jurist -
Sebald Fulco Johannes Rau 1765–1807 · poet -
Karl Heinrich Rau 1792–1870 · economist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 158 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rau.
- Ratti 845 · U.S. census
- Rattin 128 · U.S. census
- Ratto 1,131 · U.S. census
- Ratton 157 · U.S. census
- Raty 149 · U.S. census
- Ratzel 318 · U.S. census
- Rauber 524 · U.S. census
- Rauch 8,617 · U.S. census
- Raul 481 · U.S. census
- Rauner 329 · U.S. census
- Rausch 8,014 · U.S. census
- Rauscher 2,361 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rau 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.