2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rueden
A surname derived from the German word "Rude", meaning a clearing or a meadow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Rueden. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rueden 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Rueden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueden, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rueden
The surname RUEDEN is of German origin, with records tracing its roots back to the 16th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old German word "ruden," which referred to a small clearing or meadow in a wooded area. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the surname may have lived in or near such clearings.
During the Middle Ages, the RUEDEN name appeared in various forms, such as Ruden, Rudenn, and Rüden, reflecting regional spelling variations. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the parish records of Hesse, Germany, dating back to the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the RUEDEN surname gained prominence in the region of Saxony, where several notable individuals bore the name. One such person was Johann Rueden, a skilled blacksmith who lived in the town of Zwickau from 1618 to 1692. His son, Hans Rueden, followed in his footsteps and became a respected craftsman in the same town.
The name RUEDEN also appeared in historical records from the neighboring region of Thuringia. In the early 1700s, a farmer named Jakob Rueden owned a substantial plot of land near the village of Rudolstadt. His descendants continued to work the land for generations, contributing to the local agricultural community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the RUEDEN surname in connection with a place name can be found in the village of Ruden, located in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. This village likely took its name from the same Old German root as the surname, further reinforcing the link between the name and the concept of a clearing or meadow.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the RUEDEN surname. In the 18th century, Friedrich Rueden (1722-1793) was a respected philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Leipzig. In the 19th century, Karl Rueden (1852-1918) was a prominent architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Berlin.
Another notable RUEDEN was Gerhard Rueden (1886-1957), a German military officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He rose to the rank of General and was awarded several military honors for his service.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rueden
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueden, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rueden 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 Rueden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 107
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rueden
Rueden 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+8 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,521 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-12 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,901 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 1,521 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 11,901 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 Rueden 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 | #138,304 | #150,205 | -8.6% |
| Count | 121 | 109 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rueden bearers went from 121 to 109 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 11,901 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #150,205.
FAQ
Rueden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rueden?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Rueden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Rueden?
Rueden ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Rueden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Rueden.
Has Rueden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rueden went from 121 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Rueden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueden, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rueden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rueden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rueden (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 Rueden mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Rude", meaning a clearing or a meadow. 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 Rueden (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 people are called Rueden?
See how common the surname Rueden is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.