2000
#13,128
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Rumbaugh
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "home by a crooked stream" in German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,187 Americans carry the last name Rumbaugh. That puts it at #14,903 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 156,724 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rumbaugh 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
2.2K
1 in 156,724
Census rank
#14,903
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,907 bearers of the surname Rumbaugh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14903rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rumbaugh
The surname Rumbaugh is believed to have originated in Germany, where it was derived from the Old High German word "rumb," meaning "bright" or "shining," and the word "baugh," which means "dweller." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived in a bright or sunny place.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded in various forms, such as Rumbough, Rumbaugh, and Rumbau, in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and the Rhine Valley. These early records indicate that the name was already well-established by that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rumbaugh can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Palatinus, a collection of medieval documents from the Palatinate region of Germany, dating back to the 14th century. This document mentions a person named Heinrich Rumbaugh, who was a landowner in the village of Wöllstein.
The name Rumbaugh also appears in the Biberacher Hättchenbuch, a historical record of citizens in the city of Biberach an der Riss, in southern Germany, from the 15th century. This record includes several individuals with the surname Rumbaugh, suggesting that the name was well-established in that region.
Historically, the name Rumbaugh has been associated with various notable individuals. One such person was Johann Rumbaugh (1530-1592), a German theologian and reformer who was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation movement. Another notable figure was Friedrich Rumbaugh (1672-1748), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician for the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
In the 18th century, the name Rumbaugh made its way to the United States, as German immigrants began settling in various parts of the country. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was in 1732, when a man named Jacob Rumbaugh arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from the Palatinate region of Germany.
Another noteworthy individual with the surname Rumbaugh was William Rumbaugh (1828-1905), a Union Army officer who served in the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Murfreesboro in 1862.
Throughout history, the surname Rumbaugh has been associated with various places and locations, reflecting the migration patterns of those who bore the name. For example, the town of Rumbaugh, Ohio, was named after a prominent Rumbaugh family that settled in the area in the 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rumbaugh
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rumbaugh 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 Rumbaugh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 1,745
- Two or more races3.2% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 32
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rumbaugh
Rumbaugh 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
#13,991
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,154
+19 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 863 places
2020
#14,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,907
-247 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 912 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,128 | 2,135 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,991 | 2,154 | 0.73 | +19 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 863 places |
| 2020 | #14,903 | 1,907 | 0.64 | -247 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 912 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 Rumbaugh 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 | #13,991 | #14,903 | -6.5% |
| Count | 2,154 | 1,907 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.64 | -12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rumbaugh bearers went from 2,154 to 1,907 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 912 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,991 to #14,903.
FAQ
Rumbaugh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rumbaugh?
Name Census estimates that about 2,187 living Americans carry the surname Rumbaugh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 156,724 residents.
How common is Rumbaugh?
Rumbaugh ranks #14,903 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,907 people with the surname Rumbaugh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,187), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Rumbaugh.
Has Rumbaugh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rumbaugh went from 2,154 recorded bearers to 1,907. That is a decrease of 247 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,991 to #14,903.
What does the Census say about the background of Rumbaugh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumbaugh, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Rumbaugh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (1,745 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rumbaugh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Rumbaugh (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 Rumbaugh mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "home by a crooked stream" in German. 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 Rumbaugh (0.64 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 are called Rumbaugh?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Rumbaugh, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.