2000
#9,853
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,026
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Fruge
A French occupational surname referring to a thrifty or frugal person, derived from the Old French word "frug".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,558 Americans carry the last name Fruge. That puts it at #9,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,333 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fruge surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 96,333
Census rank
#9,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,103 bearers of the surname Fruge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fruge, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fruge
The surname Fruge originated in the Walloon region of Belgium, which includes parts of modern-day France. The name is believed to derive from the French word "frugue," meaning "to strike" or "to beat." This suggests that the name may have been originally given to someone who worked as a minter or smith.
The earliest recorded instances of the Fruge surname date back to the 13th century in the town of Liège, which was part of the Principality of Liège at the time. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Jean Fruge, who was mentioned in a municipal record from 1275, and Lambert Fruge, a blacksmith recorded in the city's guild records in 1298.
The Fruge name appears to have spread throughout the Low Countries and into neighboring regions during the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, there are records of individuals with the surname Fruge living in the Duchy of Brabant and the County of Flanders.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as religious and political turmoil gripped the region, many Walloon families, including those with the Fruge surname, sought refuge in other parts of Europe and the Americas. This led to the establishment of Fruge family lines in countries such as France, Spain, and the United States.
One notable bearer of the Fruge name was Antoine Fruge (1518-1592), a Walloon metalsmith who settled in Paris in the mid-16th century and became known for his intricate and ornate metalwork. Another was Pierre Fruge (1630-1701), a Walloon merchant who established a successful trading company in Amsterdam.
In the Americas, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the Fruge surname was Jean-Baptiste Fruge (1695-1768), a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution and settled in the British colony of South Carolina in the early 18th century.
Other notable Fruge individuals throughout history include Marie-Antoinette Fruge (1755-1793), a French courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette; Jacques Fruge (1789-1865), a Belgian engineer who oversaw the construction of several canals and bridges in the Netherlands; and Émile Fruge (1863-1932), a Walloon poet and author who wrote extensively about his homeland's culture and traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fruge
Among Census respondents with the surname Fruge, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Fruge bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Fruge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.0% · 2,544
- Black or African American10.1% · 313
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 115
- Two or more races3.4% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fruge
Fruge appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,266
+240 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 46 places
2020
#9,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,103
-163 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,853 | 3,026 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,899 | 3,266 | 1.11 | +240 bearers (+7.9%) | Down 46 places |
| 2020 | #9,935 | 3,103 | 1.04 | -163 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 36 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Fruge surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,899 | #9,935 | -0.4% |
| Count | 3,266 | 3,103 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 1.04 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fruge bearers went from 3,266 to 3,103 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,899 to #9,935.
FAQ
Fruge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fruge?
Name Census estimates that about 3,558 living Americans carry the surname Fruge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,333 residents.
How common is Fruge?
Fruge ranks #9,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,103 people with the surname Fruge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Fruge.
Has Fruge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fruge went from 3,266 recorded bearers to 3,103. That is a decrease of 163 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,899 to #9,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Fruge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fruge, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fruge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (2,544 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fruge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.0%), Black (10.1%), Hispanic (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Fruge (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Fruge mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a thrifty or frugal person, derived from the Old French word "frug". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Fruge (1.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Fruge?
You can see how common the surname Fruge is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.