2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Rubman
A surname potentially derived from the German "Raub" meaning "plunder" or "robbery".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Rubman. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rubman 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Rubman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rubman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rubman
The surname Rubman is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of Russia and Ukraine. It likely emerged during the late medieval period or the early modern era, around the 15th to 17th centuries.
The name Rubman is thought to derive from the Slavic word "rub," which means "border" or "edge." This could suggest that the name initially referred to someone who lived near a border or on the outskirts of a settlement. Alternatively, it may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked at a border crossing or as a boundary surveyor.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in major historical manuscripts like the Domesday Book, some early instances of the surname have been found in Russian and Ukrainian church records from the 16th and 17th centuries. These include entries for individuals such as Ivan Rubman (born around 1590) and Andrei Rubman (born around 1625).
One of the earliest known bearers of the Rubman surname was Mikhail Rubman, a Russian merchant and landowner who lived in the late 16th century. He is mentioned in several trade records from the city of Novgorod, where he conducted business dealings.
In the 18th century, there was a notable Russian military officer named Fyodor Rubman (1720-1789), who served in the Imperial Russian Army and participated in several campaigns during the reign of Catherine the Great. He is recorded as having been awarded several honors for his service.
Another historical figure with the Rubman surname was the Ukrainian writer and poet Oleksiy Rubman (1810-1876), who was known for his collections of folk tales and poems that celebrated Ukrainian culture and traditions. His works were influential in the development of Ukrainian literature during the 19th century.
In the late 19th century, a wealthy Russian industrialist named Ivan Rubman (1845-1917) established a successful textile manufacturing business in the city of Moscow. He is remembered for his philanthropic contributions, including funding the construction of schools and hospitals in the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rubman surname in a place name can be found in the village of Rubmanovo, located in the Tver region of Russia. This village likely took its name from an early settler or landowner with the Rubman surname in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rubman
Among Census respondents with the surname Rubman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rubman 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 Rubman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rubman
Rubman appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+9 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,767 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 9,767 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 Rubman 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 | #158,432 | #148,665 | 6.2% |
| Count | 102 | 111 | 8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 23.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rubman bearers went from 102 to 111 (+8.8% change). The surname moved up 9,767 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #148,665.
FAQ
Rubman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rubman?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Rubman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Rubman?
Rubman ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 111 people with the surname Rubman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Rubman.
Has Rubman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rubman went from 102 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 9 (+8.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Rubman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rubman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Rubman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rubman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (2.7%), Black (1.8%). 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 Rubman (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 Rubman mean?
A surname potentially derived from the German "Raub" meaning "plunder" or "robbery". 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 Rubman (0.04 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 many people are called Rubman?
Want to know how many people have the surname Rubman? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.