2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rudoff
A surname possibly derived from the Slavic name Rudolf or a variant thereof.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Rudoff. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rudoff 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Rudoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rudoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rudoff
The surname Rudoff has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German words "rot" meaning red and "dorf" meaning village, suggesting a connection to a settlement known for its reddish soil or perhaps the red-tiled roofs of its buildings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rudoff can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Saxony, Germany, where a Johann Rudoff was listed as a resident of the town of Zittau in 1572. These church records were vital for documenting births, marriages, and deaths during that era.
In the 17th century, the Rudoff name appeared in various historical documents across German-speaking regions. Notably, a merchant named Hans Rudoff is mentioned in the municipal archives of the city of Nuremberg, dated 1638, indicating the family's involvement in trade and commerce.
The earliest known use of the name Rudoff in literature can be traced back to 1712, when a character named Rudoff appeared in the satirical novel "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" by Rudolf Erich Raspe. This fictional character, known for his outrageous tales of adventure, helped popularize the surname in literary circles.
Among notable individuals bearing the Rudoff surname, one can mention Johann Rudoff (1716-1784), a German composer and organist who served at the court of Weimar and contributed to the development of church music in his time. Another prominent figure was Wilhelm Rudoff (1801-1859), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and architectural works.
Other historical figures of note include Karl Rudoff (1858-1923), a German philologist and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages, and Erich Rudoff (1888-1967), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin during the early 20th century.
The Rudoff surname also found its way into military annals, with General Friedrich Rudoff (1878-1942) serving as a highly decorated officer in the German Imperial Army during World War I and later joining the Nazi Party's paramilitary forces in the 1930s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rudoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Rudoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Rudoff 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 Rudoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 6
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rudoff
Rudoff appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-11 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,826 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-19 bearers (-16.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,865 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 17,826 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -19 bearers (-16.1%) | Down 14,865 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 Rudoff 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 | #141,140 | #156,005 | -10.5% |
| Count | 118 | 99 | -16.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rudoff bearers went from 118 to 99 (-16.1% change). The surname moved down 14,865 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #156,005.
FAQ
Rudoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rudoff?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Rudoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Rudoff?
Rudoff ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Rudoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Rudoff.
Has Rudoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rudoff went from 118 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 19 (-16.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Rudoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rudoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Rudoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rudoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%), Black (1.0%). 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 Rudoff (2000, 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 Rudoff mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Slavic name Rudolf or a variant thereof. 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 Rudoff (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Rudoff?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.