2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Ruedebusch
Topographic surname of German origin referring to someone who lived near a grove of rue plants.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Ruedebusch. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ruedebusch 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Ruedebusch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruedebusch, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ruedebusch
The surname Ruedebusch is of German origin, originating in the late Middle Ages around the 14th or 15th century. It is a locative name, derived from a place name likely referring to a small village or hamlet where the name bearers once lived or originated from. The name itself is composed of two elements - "Ruede" which may have evolved from the Old German word "rüden" meaning to clear land, and "busch" meaning bush or shrub.
This suggests the name Ruedebusch could have referred to a settlement or homestead located in a cleared area surrounded by bushes or shrubland. The earliest recorded instances of the name appear in various medieval German records and documents from regions such as Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Ruedebusch, a farmer from the village of Rüdesheim in the Rhineland, mentioned in a land deed dated 1486.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the city of Nuremberg, with a certain Hans Ruedebusch listed as a merchant and guild member in 1534. Another notable individual was Christoph Ruedebusch, a Lutheran pastor born in Erfurt in 1598, who authored several theological treatises during the Reformation era.
As the surname spread across German-speaking regions, local variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged, such as Rüdebusch, Rüdebüsch, and Rüdebüscher. In the 18th century, a branch of the family settled in the Palatinate region, where the name took on the spelling Rüdebüsch. One prominent bearer from this line was Johann Adam Rüdebüsch, a celebrated clockmaker born in Zweibrücken in 1744.
Another notable figure was Wilhelm Ruedebusch, a German-American pioneer and settler who emigrated to Wisconsin in the mid-19th century, establishing a successful farm and becoming a respected community leader in the town of Lebanon.
Other historical figures bearing the Ruedebusch surname include Hermann Ruedebusch, a 19th-century architect from Hanover who designed several notable buildings in northern Germany, and Ernst Ruedebusch, a German-born artist and illustrator active in New York City in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruedebusch
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruedebusch, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ruedebusch 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 Ruedebusch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.5% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ruedebusch
Ruedebusch 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
#122,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+15 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 3,325 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-22 bearers (-15.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,474 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | +15 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 3,325 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-15.6%) | Down 20,474 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 Ruedebusch 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 | #122,314 | #142,788 | -16.7% |
| Count | 141 | 119 | -15.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ruedebusch bearers went from 141 to 119 (-15.6% change). The surname moved down 20,474 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #142,788.
FAQ
Ruedebusch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ruedebusch?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Ruedebusch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Ruedebusch?
Ruedebusch ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Ruedebusch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Ruedebusch.
Has Ruedebusch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ruedebusch went from 141 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 22 (-15.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #122,314 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Ruedebusch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruedebusch, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Ruedebusch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ruedebusch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.5%), Hispanic (0.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Ruedebusch (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 Ruedebusch mean?
Topographic surname of German origin referring to someone who lived near a grove of rue plants. 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 Ruedebusch (0.04 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 Ruedebusch?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.