2000
#6,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,980
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.85
Rare Last name
Rumsey
Derived from the Old English place name "Ramesege," meaning "wild garlic island."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,722 Americans carry the last name Rumsey. That puts it at #6,537 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,901 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rumsey 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rumsey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.7K
1 in 59,901
Census rank
#6,537
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,990 bearers of the surname Rumsey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6537th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumsey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rumsey
The surname Rumsey is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the hamlet of Romesie in Hampshire, England. The name Romesie itself is believed to have its roots in the Old English words "rum" meaning roomy or spacious, and "ey" meaning island or dry land in a marsh.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William de Romesie, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire in 1194. The Pipe Rolls were a series of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer during the medieval period. This suggests that the Rumsey family had already established itself in Hampshire by the late 12th century.
The name Rumsey is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The village of Romesie is listed in the Domesday Book under the spelling "Romesie," further indicating the antiquity of the surname.
In the 13th century, Robert de Rumesy was a prominent figure who held lands in Hampshire and Somerset. He was also a signatory to the Barons' Letter of 1301, a document that demanded reforms from King Edward I.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Rumsey family played a significant role in the English Civil War. John Rumsey (1610-1692) was a Royalist officer who fought for King Charles I, and his son, Thomas Rumsey (1638-1704), was a Member of Parliament for Lymington in Hampshire.
Another notable bearer of the name was Walter Rumsey (1584-1660), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who was a benefactor of the town of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. He funded the construction of the iconic Old Bridge over the River Thames and left a substantial portion of his estate for charitable purposes.
In the 18th century, Benjamin Rumsey (1734-1808) was a prominent English cricket player who played for Hampshire and was considered one of the leading batsmen of his era.
Throughout its history, the surname Rumsey has also been recorded with various spellings, such as Rumsie, Rumsy, Rumsy, and Romesey, reflecting the variations in local dialects and scribal practices of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rumsey
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumsey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Rumsey 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 Rumsey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 4,503
- Two or more races3.6% · 178
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 152
- Black or African American1.8% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rumsey
Rumsey 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
#6,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,226
+246 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.77
Rank movement Down 199 places
2020
#6,537
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,990
-236 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,298 | 4,980 | 1.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,497 | 5,226 | 1.77 | +246 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 199 places |
| 2020 | #6,537 | 4,990 | 1.67 | -236 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 40 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 Rumsey 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 | #6,497 | #6,537 | -0.6% |
| Count | 5,226 | 4,990 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.77 | 1.67 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rumsey bearers went from 5,226 to 4,990 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,497 to #6,537.
FAQ
Rumsey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rumsey?
Name Census estimates that about 5,722 living Americans carry the surname Rumsey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,901 residents.
How common is Rumsey?
Rumsey ranks #6,537 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,990 people with the surname Rumsey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,722), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rumsey.
Has Rumsey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rumsey went from 5,226 recorded bearers to 4,990. That is a decrease of 236 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,497 to #6,537.
What does the Census say about the background of Rumsey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rumsey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Rumsey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (4,503 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rumsey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Rumsey (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 Rumsey mean?
Derived from the Old English place name "Ramesege," meaning "wild garlic island." 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 Rumsey (1.67 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 Rumsey?
See how many people are called Rumsey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.