2000
#13,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,077
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Ruan
A Breton surname derived from the given name Ruadán, meaning "red-haired" or "rust-colored" in Irish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,415 Americans carry the last name Ruan. That puts it at #5,933 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,430 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ruan 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
6.4K
1 in 53,430
Census rank
#5,933
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,594 bearers of the surname Ruan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5933rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and White (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ruan
The surname RUAN is of Chinese origin, traced back to the ancient Guangdong province of southern China. It is believed to have derived from the name of a town or village in this region, perhaps a transliteration of a local dialect pronunciation.
One of the earliest recorded references to the RUAN surname can be found in the Guangdong Genealogical Records, a collection of family histories and lineages compiled during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). These records document various branches of the RUAN clan and their ancestral villages scattered throughout the province.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as Chinese immigrants began settling in various parts of the world, the RUAN surname started appearing in historical records and documents outside of China. Notable individuals bearing this name include:
1. Ruan Lingyu (1910-1935), a celebrated Chinese silent film actress known for her tragic life and untimely death at the age of 24.
2. Ruan Yuan (1764-1849), a Chinese philosopher and scholar who made significant contributions to the Neo-Confucian movement during the Qing Dynasty.
3. Ruan Ji (210-263 AD), a renowned poet and calligrapher from the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China.
4. Ruan Xian (1764-1834), a Qing Dynasty scholar and essayist known for his works on classical Chinese literature and philosophy.
5. Ruan Xiaoxu (1826-1889), a Chinese painter and calligrapher who was particularly skilled in the traditional gongbi style of painting.
While the RUAN surname is relatively uncommon outside of China, it has a rich heritage and historical significance within Chinese culture, dating back to ancient times and appearing in various literary and artistic works over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruan
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and White (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Ruan 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 Ruan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.7% · 4,568
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 668
- White4.1% · 229
- Black or African American1.6% · 91
- Two or more races0.6% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ruan
Ruan 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
#8,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,676
+1,599 bearers (+77.0%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Up 4,533 places
2020
#5,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,594
+1,918 bearers (+52.2%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Up 2,974 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,440 | 2,077 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,907 | 3,676 | 1.25 | +1,599 bearers (+77.0%) | Up 4,533 places |
| 2020 | #5,933 | 5,594 | 1.87 | +1,918 bearers (+52.2%) | Up 2,974 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 Ruan 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 | #8,907 | #5,933 | 33.4% |
| Count | 3,676 | 5,594 | 52.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.25 | 1.87 | 49.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ruan bearers went from 3,676 to 5,594 (+52.2% change). The surname moved up 2,974 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,907 to #5,933.
FAQ
Ruan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ruan?
Name Census estimates that about 6,415 living Americans carry the surname Ruan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,430 residents.
How common is Ruan?
Ruan ranks #5,933 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,594 people with the surname Ruan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,415), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Ruan.
Has Ruan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ruan went from 3,676 recorded bearers to 5,594. That is an increase of 1,918 (+52.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,907 to #5,933.
What does the Census say about the background of Ruan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and White (4.1%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ruan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (4,568 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ruan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (81.7%), Hispanic (11.9%), White (4.1%). 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 Ruan (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 Ruan mean?
A Breton surname derived from the given name Ruadán, meaning "red-haired" or "rust-colored" in Irish. 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 Ruan (1.87 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 Americans have the surname Ruan?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.