Rudge last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Rudge

A surname derived from a place name, possibly from the Old English ridde meaning "clearing" or "assart."

Rudge, 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 Rudge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rudge in America

Rudge is the 40800th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rudge surname appeared 535 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rudge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rudge 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 40800 35053 15.15%
Count 535 609 -12.94%
Proportion per 100k 0.18 0.23 -24.39%

The history of the last name Rudge

The surname RUDGE has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "hrycg," meaning "ridge" or "back," referring to a person who lived near a ridge or elevated landform.

The earliest recorded instance of the name RUDGE can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Rugg" or "Rugge." This indicates that the name was already in use during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century.

In the 13th century, the name RUDGE appeared in various records and documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire from 1273, where a person named John Rugge was mentioned. During this period, the name was also associated with several place names, including Rudge Hill in Wiltshire and Rudge Farm in Somerset.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname RUDGE was Sir Benjamin Rudge (1572-1658), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I. Another prominent figure was Samuel Rudge (1620-1690), a Quaker minister and writer who authored several religious works.

In the 18th century, Edward Rudge (1701-1778) was a renowned English botanist and paleontologist, known for his contributions to the study of fossil plants. His contemporaries included Thomas Rudge (1740-1811), a celebrated English engraver and artist.

During the 19th century, the RUDGE surname gained further recognition with individuals like Thomas Rudge (1833-1890), a prominent English watchmaker and inventor of the self-winding watch mechanism. Additionally, Arthur Rudge (1856-1920) was a notable English cyclist and founder of the Rudge-Whitworth bicycle company.

Some variations and alternative spellings of the name RUDGE include Rudger, Rugg, Rugge, and Rige, reflecting the evolution of the surname over time and across different regions of England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rudge

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

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 Rudge was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.45% 516
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.50% 8
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.45% 94.91% 1.61%
Black 1.50% 1.97% -27.09%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 1.15% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.81% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Rudge last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 14, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/rudge-surname-popularity/.

"Rudge last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/rudge-surname-popularity/. Accessed 14 May, 2025

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.