Rus
A Dutch diminutive of Rudolf and a Slavonic name meaning "russet-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 83 living Americans carry the first name Rus. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Rus today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rus births was 2024 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rus. 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 Rus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
83
~ 1 in 4,129,570 Americans
Peak year
2024
12 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
1960 SSA rank
#3,985
Tracked since 1957
Census
Rus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 250 people with the first name Rus, which placed it at #33,212 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,212
National first-name rank
People counted
250
250 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rus is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rus described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.8% · 207
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 12
- Black or African American3.2% · 8
- Two or more races2.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Rus
Rus leans heavily female at 87.2% of total registrations, but 11 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rus as a male name
- Ranked #3,985 in 1960
- 6 male births in 1960
- Peak: 1960 (6 births)
Rus as a female name
- Ranked #8,830 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rus on both sides of the split. Of the 249 people counted with this name, 159 were male (63.9%) and 90 were female (36.1%).
Popularity
Rus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rus from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 36 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rus 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 Rus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rus' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rus
The name Rus has its origins in the Slavic languages, particularly Russian and Ukrainian. It is believed to have emerged around the 9th century AD, during the time of the Kievan Rus, a medieval East Slavic state that existed between the 9th and 13th centuries.
The name Rus is thought to be derived from the Old East Slavic word "rus," which referred to the people of the Kievan Rus and their lands. The word itself is believed to have its roots in the Proto-Slavic word "rúsǐ," meaning "red" or "fair-haired," possibly referring to the physical appearance of the early Slavic tribes.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Rus can be found in the Primary Chronicle, a medieval Russian chronicle written in the early 12th century. The chronicle mentions the Rus people and their rulers, including Prince Rurik, who is often credited with founding the Rurik Dynasty that ruled over the Kievan Rus.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Rus or variations thereof. One of the most famous was Ruslan, a legendary hero from the epic poem "The Tale of Ruslan and Ludmila" by Alexander Pushkin, the renowned Russian poet who lived from 1799 to 1837.
Another notable figure was Rustem Pasha (1563-1631), an Ottoman statesman and military commander who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1628 to 1631. He was known for his successful campaigns against the Safavid Persians and his efforts to modernize the Ottoman military.
In the 20th century, Rus Demina (1919-2005) was a prominent Soviet-Russian actress who appeared in numerous films and stage productions. She was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR, one of the highest honors for performers in the Soviet Union.
Rustem Suleymanov (1907-1985) was a Soviet Tatar writer and poet who made significant contributions to Tatar literature. His works often explored themes of love, nature, and the struggles of the Tatar people.
Finally, Rus Khisamutdinov (1950-2021) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He won numerous tournaments throughout his career and was known for his aggressive and creative playing style.
While the name Rus may not be as common today as it once was, its historical roots and connections to the Slavic cultures and languages make it a fascinating name with a rich heritage.
People
Rus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rus 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
Rus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 83 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rus 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 1 in 4,129,570 US residents.
Is Rus a common name?
We classify Rus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rus most popular?
The single biggest year for Rus was 2024, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rus is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 250 people with the name Rus, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,212 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rus in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rus?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rus on both sides of the split. Of the 249 people counted with this name, 159 were male (63.9%) and 90 were female (36.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rus is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.8% (207 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Rus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rus a female name?
Yes, 87.2% of people registered as Rus in the SSA data are female. 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 Rus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rus 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 Rus 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.
How many people have Rus as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.