2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rueffer
A German surname derived from an occupational name for a public crier or announcer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Rueffer. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rueffer 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Rueffer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rueffer
The surname Rueffer has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "rufen," meaning "to call" or "to shout." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who worked as town criers or those with particularly loud or distinctive voices.
In the early records of the Palatinate region of Germany, variations of the name, such as "Ruffer" and "Rüffer," can be found. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Hans Rueffer, a farmer from the village of Zweibrücken, who lived in the late 1500s.
The Rueffer name also appears in the historical records of the city of Mainz, where a family of this surname was listed among the skilled artisans and craftsmen in the 17th century. A notable member of this family was Johann Rueffer, a master woodcarver born in 1632, whose intricate works adorned several churches in the region.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it underwent various spelling variations, including "Rüffer," "Rüfer," and "Rufer." In the 18th century, a branch of the family migrated to the Alsace region of France, where the name was recorded as "Ruffer" in local parish records.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rueffer name in English-speaking regions can be traced back to Johann Christoph Rueffer, born in 1723 in Hesse, Germany. He later immigrated to Pennsylvania in the United States and became a prominent landowner and farmer in the region.
Other notable individuals bearing the Rueffer surname include:
1. Theodor Rueffer (1789-1856), a German philosopher and educator who taught at the University of Heidelberg.
2. Emilie Rueffer (1808-1882), a German novelist and poet known for her works depicting the lives of ordinary people.
3. Wilhelm Rueffer (1870-1948), a German architect known for his work on several prominent buildings in Berlin.
4. Karl Rueffer (1895-1964), a German-American physicist who contributed to the development of radar technology during World War II.
5. Gerhard Rueffer (1923-2010), a German-born American artist and sculptor renowned for his abstract metal sculptures.
While the surname Rueffer may have originated from a specific occupation or trait, it has since evolved to encompass individuals from various walks of life, reflecting the rich diversity of its bearers across different regions and eras.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rueffer
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rueffer 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 Rueffer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.2% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rueffer
Rueffer 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-13 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,161 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,642 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 21,161 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 4,642 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 Rueffer 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 | #148,347 | #152,989 | -3.1% |
| Count | 111 | 105 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rueffer bearers went from 111 to 105 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 4,642 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #152,989.
FAQ
Rueffer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rueffer?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Rueffer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Rueffer?
Rueffer ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Rueffer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Rueffer.
Has Rueffer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rueffer went from 111 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Rueffer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Rueffer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rueffer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.2%), Hispanic (1.9%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Rueffer (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 Rueffer mean?
A German surname derived from an occupational name for a public crier or announcer. 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 Rueffer (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 common is the surname Rueffer?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Rueffer? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.