2000
#6,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,905
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.82
Rare Last name
Rue
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a lane, alley, or small street.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,251 Americans carry the last name Rue. That puts it at #7,059 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,274 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rue 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rue with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 65,274
Census rank
#7,059
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,579 bearers of the surname Rue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7059th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rue, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Hispanic (6.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rue
The surname Rue has its origins in France, where it first emerged in the 12th century as a habitational name for someone who lived on or near a street or lane, derived from the Old French word "rue" meaning "street".
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval French records and charters, with variations in spelling such as Ruee, De la Rue, and Derue. One of the earliest known bearers was Raoul de la Rue, a landowner in Normandy who was mentioned in a charter from 1180.
In England, the name Rue is thought to have been introduced by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Ruhe" and "Rua", referring to landowners in several counties.
The surname Rue also has connections to place names, such as the village of Rue in Picardy, France, and the town of Rue in Somerset, England. These locations may have contributed to the adoption of the surname by residents or former residents.
Notable historical figures bearing the surname Rue include:
1. Guillaume de la Rue (c. 1470-1518), a French composer and singer of the Renaissance period.
2. Charles de la Rue (1643-1725), a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled to Canada and the Great Lakes region.
3. Pierre de la Rue (c. 1452-1518), a renowned Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer and singer.
4. John Rue (1587-1659), an English clergyman and author of the 17th century.
5. Philip Rue (1767-1831), an American Revolutionary War soldier and pioneer settler in Ohio.
Over time, the surname Rue has spread across various regions, including France, England, Belgium, Canada, and the United States, with different branches of the family establishing themselves in various locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rue
Among Census respondents with the surname Rue, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Hispanic (6.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Rue 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 Rue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 3,347
- Black or African American14.6% · 670
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 289
- Two or more races3.6% · 164
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rue
Rue 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
#6,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,023
+118 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 326 places
2020
#7,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,579
-444 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 338 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,395 | 4,905 | 1.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,721 | 5,023 | 1.70 | +118 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 326 places |
| 2020 | #7,059 | 4,579 | 1.53 | -444 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 338 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 Rue 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 | #6,721 | #7,059 | -5.0% |
| Count | 5,023 | 4,579 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.70 | 1.53 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rue bearers went from 5,023 to 4,579 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 338 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,721 to #7,059.
FAQ
Rue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rue?
Name Census estimates that about 5,251 living Americans carry the surname Rue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,274 residents.
How common is Rue?
Rue ranks #7,059 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,579 people with the surname Rue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rue.
Has Rue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rue went from 5,023 recorded bearers to 4,579. That is a decrease of 444 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,721 to #7,059.
What does the Census say about the background of Rue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rue, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Rue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (3,347 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.1%), Black (14.6%), Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Rue (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 Rue mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a lane, alley, or small street. 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 Rue (1.53 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 have the surname Rue?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.