Rubinstein last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Rubinstein is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rubinstein.

Meaning of Rubinstein

A Jewish ornamental surname referring to someone who traded or worked with rubies or other precious stones.

Rubinstein, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rubinstein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rubinstein in America

Rubinstein is the 10125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rubinstein surname appeared 3,183 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Rubinstein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rubinstein to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 10125 9716 4.12%
Count 3,183 3,068 3.68%
Proportion per 100k 1.08 1.14 -5.41%

The history of the last name Rubinstein

The surname Rubinstein has its origins in Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that were once part of the Russian Empire. It is a Jewish surname that is derived from the Yiddish word "rubin," which means "ruby" in English. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked with rubies or had a connection to the gemstone trade.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rubinstein can be found in the 1784 revision of the Prussian census, which listed several individuals with this surname living in the region of Pomerania (now part of modern-day Poland and Germany). The name may have also appeared in other historical records and documents from the 18th and 19th centuries in areas with significant Jewish populations.

In the 19th century, the Rubinstein surname gained prominence with the birth of Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894), a renowned Russian pianist, composer, and founder of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His brother, Nikolai Rubinstein (1835-1881), was also a respected pianist and composer.

Another notable figure with the Rubinstein surname was Ida Rubinstein (1885-1960), a Russian dancer and actress who performed in Paris and was known for her highly stylized productions. She was also a patron of the arts and supported many artists and writers during her lifetime.

In the field of science, Sir Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) was a British biochemist who made significant contributions to the understanding of enzymes and their role in metabolism. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1959 for his work.

Additionally, Artur Rubinstein (1887-1982), a Polish-American classical pianist, was widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. He was renowned for his interpretations of the works of Chopin, Brahms, and other composers.

While the Rubinstein surname has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through Jewish migration and diaspora communities. However, its origins can be traced back to the Yiddish word "rubin" and its connection to the ruby gemstone trade.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rubinstein

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rubinstein.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rubinstein was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.11% 2,932
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.94% 30
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.66% 21
Hispanic Origin 5.62% 179

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rubinstein has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.11% 93.45% -1.44%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.94% 0.42% 76.47%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.66% 1.53% -79.45%
Hispanic 5.62% 4.27% 27.30%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rubinstein was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rubinstein, please contact us.

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"Rubinstein last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 8, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/rubinstein-surname-popularity/.

"Rubinstein last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/rubinstein-surname-popularity/. Accessed 8 November, 2024

Rubinstein last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/rubinstein-surname-popularity/.

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