Rusti
A feminine name derived from the English word "rustic," signifying rural simplicity.
Name Census estimates that about 323 living Americans carry the first name Rusti. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rusti today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rusti births was 1979 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rusti. 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.
People living today
323
~ 1 in 1,061,159 Americans
Peak year
1979
19 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2003 SSA rank
#17,840
Tracked since 1962
Census
Rusti in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 386 people with the first name Rusti, which placed it at #24,794 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
#24,794
National first-name rank
People counted
386
386 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rusti
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rusti is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Rusti 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 Rusti at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 331
- Two or more races5.4% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 14
- Black or African American1.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 6
Popularity
Rusti: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rusti from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 118 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rusti 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 Rusti during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rusti
The given name Rusti has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, one of the oldest Indo-European languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "rushti," which means "growth" or "prosperity." This name has been in use for centuries and has evolved in spelling and pronunciation across various regions and cultures.
In Hindu mythology, Rusti is mentioned as one of the names of the goddess Lakshmi, who is associated with wealth, fortune, and prosperity. The name Rusti is also found in ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, where it is often used as a symbolic representation of prosperity and abundance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rusti dates back to the 5th century BCE, when it was used as a personal name in the ancient Indian kingdom of Magadha. During this period, the name was primarily associated with members of the noble and ruling classes.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rusti. One of the most famous was Rusti Bhatta, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and grammarian who lived in the 7th century CE. He is credited with authoring several influential works on Sanskrit grammar and linguistics.
Another notable figure was Rusti Devi, a 16th-century queen of the Gajapati Kingdom in present-day Odisha, India. She was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her support for the construction of several temples and monuments during her reign.
In the 18th century, Rusti Singh was a prominent military leader and ruler of the Maratha Empire in India. He played a significant role in expanding the empire's territories and consolidating its power during his tenure.
Rusti Narayana, a 19th-century Indian philosopher and social reformer, was also a prominent figure who bore this name. He advocated for the advancement of education and the promotion of social justice in Indian society.
Another notable Rusti was Rusti Charan Banerjee, a 20th-century Indian politician and statesman who served as the President of the Indian National Congress and played a crucial role in India's independence movement.
While the name Rusti has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries and has been adopted by various communities worldwide. Its association with prosperity and abundance has contributed to its enduring popularity across generations.
People
Rusti + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rusti 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
Rusti: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rusti?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 323 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rusti 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 1,061,159 US residents.
Is Rusti a common name?
We classify Rusti as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 350 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rusti most popular?
The single biggest year for Rusti was 1979, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rusti is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rusti in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 386 people with the name Rusti, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,794 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 Rusti 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 Rusti?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rusti leans strongly female. 365 people counted with this name were female (95.8%), compared with 16 male bearers (4.2%). 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 Rusti?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rusti is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Rusti most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rusti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (331 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 Rusti in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rusti a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rusti 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 Rusti still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rusti 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 Rusti 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 share the name Rusti?
Want to know how many people have the name Rusti? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.