2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rulong
A derivative of the German surname "Ruhland", likely relating to someone from that region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Rulong. 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 Rulong 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 Rulong 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 Rulong, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rulong
The surname Rulong has its origins in the Middle Ages, tracing back to the regions of northern France and Belgium. It is believed to have derived from the Old French words "ru" meaning a small stream or brook, and "long" meaning elongated or lengthy, potentially referring to a settlement located along a long stream or river.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rulong can be found in the 13th-century cartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Amand in Belgium, where a certain Gilles de Rulong is mentioned as a landowner in the year 1249. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, a branch of the Rulong family is recorded as having settled in the village of Rulong, near Arras in northern France. This village likely took its name from the family, further solidifying the connection between the surname and the geographic location.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the name Rulong was Jean Rulong, a skilled artisan and metalworker born in Brussels in 1530. His intricate works in bronze and silver were highly sought after by the wealthy patrons of the time.
As the Rulong family spread across Europe in the following centuries, variations in spelling emerged, such as Rulongh, Rullong, and Rulongue. One prominent individual was Pieter Rulongh, a Dutch merchant and explorer who embarked on several voyages to the East Indies in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Rulong name made its way to England, where records show a William Rulong serving as a member of the Honorable Artillery Company in London during the reign of King Charles II.
Another notable figure was Marie-Thérèse Rulongue, a French botanist and naturalist born in 1732 in Montpellier. She made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Mediterranean region and was elected to the prestigious Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris in 1786.
As the centuries progressed, individuals with the surname Rulong continued to make their mark in various fields, from academia to the arts, further adding to the rich tapestry of history associated with this name of ancient origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rulong
Among Census respondents with the surname Rulong, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rulong 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 Rulong surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rulong
Rulong 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-13 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,562 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-6 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,438 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 20,562 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 5,438 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 Rulong 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 | #146,201 | #151,639 | -3.7% |
| Count | 113 | 107 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rulong bearers went from 113 to 107 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 5,438 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #151,639.
FAQ
Rulong surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rulong?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Rulong. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Rulong?
Rulong 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 Rulong. 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 Rulong.
Has Rulong become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rulong went from 113 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Rulong?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rulong, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) 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 Rulong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rulong appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (4.7%), 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 Rulong (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 Rulong mean?
A derivative of the German surname "Ruhland", likely relating to someone from that region. 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 Rulong (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 Rulong?
Want to know how many people have the surname Rulong? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.