Rustin
A masculine English surname derived from the Old Norse word for "rust-toned".
Name Census estimates that about 2,706 living Americans carry the first name Rustin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rustin today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rustin births was 1979 (87 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rustin. 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
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,665 Americans
Peak year
1979
87 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,461
Tracked since 1949
Census
Rustin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,274 people with the first name Rustin, which placed it at #6,888 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
#6,888
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,274 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rustin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rustin is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Rustin 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 Rustin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 2,014
- Two or more races4.0% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 60
- Black or African American1.8% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 30
Popularity
Rustin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rustin from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 655 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Rustin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rustin 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 Rustin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rustins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, California, Utah recorded the most babies named Rustin, while Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rustin
The name Rustin has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "rust," which means "reddish-brown color." The name gained popularity during the Anglo-Saxon period, likely referring to someone with a reddish or auburn hair color.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rustin can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a historical record compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. This document contains references to individuals bearing variations of the name, such as Rusticus and Rustinus.
In medieval times, the name Rustin was associated with monks and religious figures. One notable example is Rustin, a 12th-century Benedictine monk from the Abbey of St. Albans, who is mentioned in the Gesta Abbatum Monasterii Sancti Albani, a chronicle of the abbots of St. Albans.
During the Renaissance period, the name Rustin appeared in various literary works, including the plays of William Shakespeare. In his play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," there is a character named Rustin, though it is unclear whether this was meant as a given name or a surname.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rustin. One such figure is Rustin Cohle, a fictional character portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the critically acclaimed HBO series "True Detective" (2014). Although a fictional character, Cohle's portrayal brought renewed attention to the name.
Another notable bearer of the name is Bayard Rustin (1912-1987), an American civil rights leader and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. Rustin played a crucial role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
In the realm of literature, Rustin Parr (1910-1991) was an American writer and educator, best known for his children's books and his work as the director of the Cleveland Public Library system.
Moving to the world of sports, Rustin Dodd (born 1988) is an American journalist and sportswriter, currently covering the Kansas City Royals for The Kansas City Star.
Lastly, Rustin Petrae (born 1992) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, known for his contributions to the indie rock genre.
While the name Rustin may not be as prevalent today as it once was, it carries a rich historical legacy, spanning various fields and time periods, and serves as a testament to the enduring nature of names and their ability to transcend generations.
People
Rustin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rustin 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
Rustin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rustin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,706 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rustin 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 126,665 US residents.
Is Rustin a common name?
We classify Rustin as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,840 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rustin most popular?
The single biggest year for Rustin was 1979, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rustin is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rustin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,274 people with the name Rustin, or 0.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,888 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 Rustin 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 Rustin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rustin leans strongly male. 2,233 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 32 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Rustin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rustin is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Rustin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rustin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (2,014 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 Rustin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rustin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rustin 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 Rustin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rustin 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 Rustin 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 Rustin as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Rustin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.