2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rues
A variant spelling of the French surname Rue, derived from a street name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Rues. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rues 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Rues in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rues, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rues
The surname Rues has its origins in France, dating back to the early 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "rue," meaning "street" or "road," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on a particular street or roadway.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Cartulaire de Notre-Dame de Paris, a collection of charters and deeds from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, which mentions a certain "Robertus de Rues" in the year 1248.
In the 14th century, the Rues surname appeared in various records across northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Picardy. One notable individual from this period was Jean Rues, a merchant from Rouen, who was mentioned in the city's tax records in 1387.
The name also made its way into English records, with the earliest known occurrence being that of William Rues, a landowner in Lincolnshire, England, whose name was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of 1274.
During the Renaissance period, several individuals with the Rues surname gained prominence. One such figure was Pierre Rues (1490-1551), a French jurist and professor of law at the University of Paris, who served as a judge in the Parlement of Paris.
Another notable individual was Jacques Rues (1547-1618), a French Protestant theologian and scholar who studied at the University of Geneva and later became a professor of theology at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
In the 17th century, the Rues surname was found in various parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Germany. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Rues (1625-1689), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels.
As the centuries progressed, the Rues surname continued to spread across Europe and beyond, with individuals bearing this name making contributions in various fields, from art and literature to science and politics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rues
Among Census respondents with the surname Rues, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rues 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 Rues surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.8% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino35.5% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rues
Rues 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
+11 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 220 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-34 bearers (-24.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 29,325 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #122,534 | 130 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 220 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -34 bearers (-24.1%) | Down 29,325 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 Rues 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 | #151,639 | -24.0% |
| Count | 141 | 107 | -24.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -28.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rues bearers went from 141 to 107 (-24.1% change). The surname moved down 29,325 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #151,639.
FAQ
Rues surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rues?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Rues. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Rues?
Rues ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Rues. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Rues.
Has Rues become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rues went from 141 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 34 (-24.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #122,314 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Rues?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rues, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Rues in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.8% (64 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rues appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.8%), Hispanic (35.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Rues (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 Rues mean?
A variant spelling of the French surname Rue, derived from a street name. 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 Rues (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 Rues?
Find out how many people are called Rues on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.