2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rufner
A German surname derived from the word "rufen", meaning "to call".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rufner. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rufner 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rufner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rufner, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rufner
The surname Rufner is of German origin, derived from the Old Germanic words "ruf" meaning "rough" or "rugged" and "ner" referring to a person or people. It is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century, in the southern regions of modern-day Germany, particularly in areas such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rufner name can be found in a 15th-century manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Johannes Rufner is mentioned as a local landowner. Another early reference is in the archives of the city of Nuremberg, where a family by the name of Rufner is documented as residing in the city during the late 16th century.
The Rufner surname can also be traced back to various place names in Germany, such as Rufenbach, a small village in Baden-Württemberg, and Rufenhofen, a town in Bavaria. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time, leading to variations such as Ruffner, Rüfner, and Ruffener.
Notable individuals bearing the Rufner surname throughout history include:
1. Johann Rufner (1522-1589), a prominent Reformation-era theologian and reformer from Nuremberg.
2. Caspar Rufner (1603-1676), a German artist and engraver known for his intricate woodcuts and etchings.
3. Anna Rufner (1713-1790), a celebrated Bavarian folk singer and storyteller whose ballads were widely popularized in the region.
4. Friedrich Rufner (1842-1919), a German politician and member of the Reichstag (Imperial Parliament) in the late 19th century.
5. Gertrud Rufner (1886-1972), a pioneering German chemist and one of the first women to receive a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Munich.
While the Rufner surname is not among the most common in Germany today, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and is deeply rooted in the cultural and linguistic heritage of the German-speaking regions of Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rufner
Among Census respondents with the surname Rufner, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Rufner 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 Rufner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 6
- Two or more races5.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rufner
Rufner 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-22 bearers (-16.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,998 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,086 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 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-16.9%) | Down 28,998 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 2,086 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 Rufner 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 | #151,532 | #149,446 | 1.4% |
| Count | 108 | 110 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rufner bearers went from 108 to 110 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 2,086 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rufner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rufner?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rufner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rufner?
Rufner ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Rufner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Rufner.
Has Rufner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rufner went from 108 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rufner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rufner, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Rufner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rufner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Hispanic (5.5%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Rufner (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 Rufner mean?
A German surname derived from the word "rufen", meaning "to call". 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 Rufner (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 Rufner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.