Frequency: (384)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
German: 1. from a Germanic personal name formed with rād, rāt ‘advice’, ‘counsel’. 2. habitational name from Rathen (Rhineland) or from any of several places called Rath.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
