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

Ruck, 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 Ruck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ruck in America

Ruck is the 14458th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ruck surname appeared 2,066 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 Ruck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ruck 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.

The history of the last name Ruck

The surname RUCK is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word 'rucke', meaning a hill or ridge. The name first emerged in the 14th century in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, where many families adopted locational surnames based on the prominent geographical features near their homesteads.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name RUCK can be found in the Rottweil town records of 1372, where a Hans Ruck is listed as a resident. The name also appears in various medieval manuscripts and charters, such as the Würzburg Diocesan Records from the late 15th century, which reference a family of Rucks living in the vicinity.

In the 16th century, the name RUCK began to spread beyond its original regional boundaries, with families bearing this surname appearing in the records of towns and villages across southern Germany. Notable individuals from this era include Johann Ruck (1499-1567), a renowned theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, and Hans Ruck (1521-1598), a master stonemason who worked on several prominent cathedrals in Bavaria.

As the RUCK families prospered and migrated, the name found its way into other parts of Europe and beyond. In the 17th century, a branch of the family settled in the Netherlands, where the name was recorded as 'Ruck' and 'Rucke'. Around this time, the name also appeared in the records of German emigrants to the British colonies in North America.

Over the centuries, the RUCK surname has been associated with various notable figures, such as Friedrich Ruck (1746-1819), a German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. In the 19th century, Johann Ruck (1825-1899) was a prominent architect responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Munich.

Another significant figure was Carl Ruck (1870-1938), a German-born American businessman who founded the Ruck Brewing Company in St. Louis, Missouri, which became one of the largest breweries in the United States during the early 20th century. More recently, Peter Ruck (1940-2022) was a renowned German journalist and author known for his investigative reporting on political and social issues.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ruck

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

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 Ruck was:

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 Ruck has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Ruck was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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