Heraldry and the Rainey Surname

Families named Rainey share a Scottish surname with a long history. Elsdon Smith's dictionary of American family names explains it as “descendant of little Ren, a pet form of Reginald (counsel, judgment)”.

Rainey coat of arms

There is no single Rainey family crest for all bearers; the honest first step is to find out which Rainey line, if any, bore arms.

Where the name comes from

Like many surnames, it grew out of a personal name. Smith also lists Raining.

The Census Bureau's 2010 surname file lists Rainey with 23,291 bearers, at rank 1,545. That is enough to place it in the top 2,500 American surnames. For the full story, order the Rainey surname pack.