Rumsey
A gender-neutral name of English origin relating to a place name.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Rumsey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rumsey today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rumsey births was 1913 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rumsey. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rumsey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1913
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1913 SSA rank
#2,750
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Rumsey: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Rumsey by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rumsey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Rumsey
The given name Rumsey is an English name that originated in the Middle Ages. Its roots can be traced back to the Old English words "rum" and "sæ," which together meant "spacious sea" or "wide sea." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a vast body of water or had some connection to the sea.
During the medieval period, the name Rumsey was primarily found in coastal regions of England, particularly in areas like Sussex and Hampshire. It was likely used as a descriptive name or a locational surname before eventually becoming a given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rumsey can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and tenants in England following the Norman Conquest. The entry mentions a place called "Romesei" in Hampshire, which is believed to be the origin of the name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the given name Rumsey. One of the most famous was Benjamin Rumsey (1734-1808), an American inventor and engineer who is credited with designing and building one of the first successful steamboats in the late 18th century.
Another prominent figure was Rumsey Curzon Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (1782-1845), a British peer and politician who served as Lord Lieutenant of Sussex. He was also an avid collector of art and a patron of the arts.
In the field of literature, Rumsey Campbell (1851-1926) was an American poet and writer known for his works on nature and rural life. He published several collections of poetry, including "The Mountaineer" and "The Prodigal Son."
Sir Rumsey Williams (1854-1935) was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy and played a significant role in the development of naval gunnery and torpedo technology.
Another notable figure was Rumsey Rees (1901-1990), a Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in the 1920s and was part of the team that won the Grand Slam in 1925.
People
Rumsey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rumsey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rumsey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rumsey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rumsey going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Rumsey a common name?
We classify Rumsey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rumsey most popular?
The single biggest year for Rumsey was 1913, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rumsey is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rumsey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rumsey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rumsey in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rumsey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rumsey in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rumsey can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Rumsey as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Rumsey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.