2000
#21,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.41
Rare Last name
Rueter
A surname derived from the German word "Riuter," meaning a clearer of land or a farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,160 Americans carry the last name Rueter. That puts it at #25,558 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 295,478 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rueter 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
1.2K
1 in 295,478
Census rank
#25,558
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,012 bearers of the surname Rueter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 25558th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rueter
The surname Rueter has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle Low German word "ruter," which referred to a land surveyor or someone who measured and marked boundaries.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Ruter" or "Rüter" in various historical documents and records from the German states. It is possible that some early bearers of the name were employed as land surveyors or worked in roles related to mapping and boundary demarcation.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Rueter can be found in the Stadtbuch (city book) of Lübeck, a historic hanseatic city in northern Germany. The entry, dated from the 14th century, mentions a certain "Henningus Ruter" as a resident of the city.
Over time, the name spread to other parts of Germany and evolved into different spellings, such as Rüter, Ruter, Reuter, and eventually, Rueter. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during the medieval and early modern periods.
Among the notable individuals who bore this surname throughout history are Johann Reuter (1588-1638), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. Another prominent figure was Fritz Reuter (1810-1874), a German novelist and poet who wrote in the Low German dialect and is considered one of the most important literary figures from the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
In the Netherlands, the surname Rueter has also been recorded, likely due to the close historical ties between the German and Dutch regions. One notable Dutch bearer of the name was Dirk Rueter (1639-1676), a naval officer and admiral who served in the Dutch Golden Age and participated in several battles during the Anglo-Dutch Wars.
Other historical figures with the surname Rueter include Wilhelm Rueter (1834-1907), a German-American entrepreneur and brewer who founded the Rueter Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Johann Christoph Rueter (1723-1800), a German painter and engraver known for his landscapes and architectural works.
While the surname Rueter is not among the most common surnames today, it has a rich history rooted in the German-speaking regions of Europe, with connections to various professions, artistic endeavors, and historical events over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rueter
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rueter 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 Rueter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 943
- Two or more races3.3% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 10
- Black or African American0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rueter
Rueter 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
#20,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,255
+146 bearers (+13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Up 877 places
2020
#25,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,012
-243 bearers (-19.4%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Down 4,587 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,848 | 1,109 | 0.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,971 | 1,255 | 0.43 | +146 bearers (+13.2%) | Up 877 places |
| 2020 | #25,558 | 1,012 | 0.34 | -243 bearers (-19.4%) | Down 4,587 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 Rueter 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 | #20,971 | #25,558 | -21.9% |
| Count | 1,255 | 1,012 | -19.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.43 | 0.34 | -21.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rueter bearers went from 1,255 to 1,012 (-19.4% change). The surname moved down 4,587 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,971 to #25,558.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rueter
FAQ
Rueter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rueter?
Name Census estimates that about 1,160 living Americans carry the surname Rueter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 295,478 residents.
How common is Rueter?
Rueter ranks #25,558 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.34 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 1,012 people with the surname Rueter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,160), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.34 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 Rueter.
Has Rueter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rueter went from 1,255 recorded bearers to 1,012. That is a decrease of 243 (-19.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,971 to #25,558.
What does the Census say about the background of Rueter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rueter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (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 Rueter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (943 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rueter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (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 Rueter (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 Rueter mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Riuter," meaning a clearer of land or a farmer. 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 Rueter (0.34 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 last name Rueter?
Want to know how many people have the surname Rueter? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.