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

Rudan, 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 Rudan surname is from the 2000 census data.

Popularity of Rudan in America

Rudan is the 148244th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rudan surname appeared 102 times in the 2000 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rudan.

The history of the last name Rudan

The surname Rudan has its origins in the Slavic regions of Central and Eastern Europe, emerging prominently in areas that are now parts of modern-day Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia. The name can be traced back to around the 13th century, with its roots in the Old Slavic word "ruda," meaning "ore" or "red soil." This suggests that the name Rudan might have originally been a nickname or occupational name referring to someone who worked with metal or lived near a place rich in red soil or ore deposits.

One of the earliest references to the surname can be found in medieval Polish archival documents from the 14th century. These manuscripts include variations such as Rudanowski and Rudanski, indicating the possible existence of noble families or landowners bearing the name. A notable reference appears in the Ruthenian chronicles of the 15th century, which mention a family named Rudan as local landholders in the region of Galicia (now part of Ukraine and Poland).

An early recorded example of the name is Stanisław Rudan, a land surveyor born circa 1450, who lived in what is now southeastern Poland. His work in mapping and documenting the lands of the region provides some of the earliest detailed cartographic records of medieval Polish territories. Another early individual of note is Yaroslav Rudan, a 16th-century scribe from Lviv, who was known for his meticulous manuscript copies of holy texts and legal documents.

The surname Rudan also appears in eastern Slovakia, particularly in the historic region of Spiš. One of the region’s early notable figures was Mikuláš Rudan (1580-1643), a local council member and businessman who played a key role in the development of trade routes through the Carpathian Mountains.

By the 18th century, the name Rudan had spread further west into present-day Czech Republic and Hungary. A remarkable individual from this period is Jan Rudan (1712-1785), a linguist and scholar from Prague who authored several early works on Slavic philology and was an advocate for the preservation of Slavic cultural heritage in Habsburg territories.

In the more modern history of the surname, Tadeusz Rudan (1843-1917) was a notable figure during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a physician and social reformer who initiated several public health campaigns in Krakow and published influential medical journals.

The surname Rudan has thus seen varied and rich historical occurrences across several regions in Central and Eastern Europe, associated with landholding, scholarly achievements, and significant contributions to medieval and early modern society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rudan

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

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 2000 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rudan 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.

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

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

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