2000
#16,655
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,583
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.59
Rare Last name
Roudebush
A Dutch surname derived from the words "rood" and "bos", referring to someone living near the red wood or bush.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,526 Americans carry the last name Roudebush. That puts it at #20,218 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 224,610 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roudebush 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
1.5K
1 in 224,610
Census rank
#20,218
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,331 bearers of the surname Roudebush in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20218th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roudebush, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roudebush
The surname ROUDEBUSH is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria in southern Germany during the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century. It is derived from the German words "roud" meaning "red" and "busch" meaning "bush" or "thicket". This likely referred to someone who lived near a distinctive red bush or thicket of red-colored vegetation.
While the earliest recorded instances of the name are difficult to pinpoint precisely, it is believed that the name first appeared in various German municipal records and church registers in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Roudebush, a farmer who lived in the village of Burglengenfeld, Bavaria, in the late 16th century.
The name ROUDEBUSH is also found in some early American colonial records, as many German immigrants brought the name to the New World in the 18th and 19th centuries. One notable early American with this surname was Johann Michael Roudebush, born in 1736 in the Palatinate region of Germany, who immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1753.
Other notable individuals with the surname ROUDEBUSH throughout history include:
1. Wilhelm Roudebush (1815-1899), a German-born American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
2. Henry Roudebush (1842-1922), an American Civil War veteran and farmer from Ohio.
3. Eliza Roudebush (1853-1934), an American educator and author from Indiana.
4. Alfred Roudebush (1887-1968), an American businessman and philanthropist from Indiana who established the Roudebush Trust for charitable purposes.
5. Lewis Roudebush (1901-1987), an American football player and coach who played for the University of Chicago and later coached at several colleges.
While the name ROUDEBUSH has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and is now found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roudebush
Among Census respondents with the surname Roudebush, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Roudebush 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 Roudebush surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 1,227
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 55
- Two or more races2.8% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 6
- Black or African American0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roudebush
Roudebush 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
#17,699
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,585
+2 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Down 1,044 places
2020
#20,218
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,331
-254 bearers (-16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.45
Rank movement Down 2,519 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,655 | 1,583 | 0.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,699 | 1,585 | 0.54 | +2 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 1,044 places |
| 2020 | #20,218 | 1,331 | 0.45 | -254 bearers (-16.0%) | Down 2,519 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 Roudebush 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 | #17,699 | #20,218 | -14.2% |
| Count | 1,585 | 1,331 | -16.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.54 | 0.45 | -17.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roudebush bearers went from 1,585 to 1,331 (-16.0% change). The surname moved down 2,519 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,699 to #20,218.
FAQ
Roudebush surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roudebush?
Name Census estimates that about 1,526 living Americans carry the surname Roudebush. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 224,610 residents.
How common is Roudebush?
Roudebush ranks #20,218 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,331 people with the surname Roudebush. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,526), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Roudebush.
Has Roudebush become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roudebush went from 1,585 recorded bearers to 1,331. That is a decrease of 254 (-16.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,699 to #20,218.
What does the Census say about the background of Roudebush?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roudebush, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Roudebush in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (1,227 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roudebush appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Roudebush (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 Roudebush mean?
A Dutch surname derived from the words "rood" and "bos", referring to someone living near the red wood or bush. 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 Roudebush (0.45 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 many people have the last name Roudebush?
Want to know how many people have the surname Roudebush? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.