Find out how popular the last name Runge is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Runge.

Runge, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Runge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Runge in America

Runge is the 6591st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Runge surname appeared 5,139 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Runge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Runge to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Runge

The surname RUNGE is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Low German word "runge," which means "a rung" or "a bar," referring to a crosspiece within a ladder or fence. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname for a maker or worker of ladders or fences.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname RUNGE can be found in various German records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. One notable example is Johannes Runge, a merchant and burgher of Lübeck, who lived in the early 15th century and was mentioned in the city's records.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name RUNGE appeared more frequently in various regions of Germany, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country. It was also found in some areas of modern-day Poland and the Czech Republic, which were historically part of the German cultural sphere.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname RUNGE was Johann Runge, a German astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1737 to 1819. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and authored several works on the subject.

Another notable figure was Carl David Tolmé Runge, a German mathematician and physicist who lived from 1856 to 1927. He is best known for his contributions to the development of numerical analysis, particularly the Runge-Kutta method for solving ordinary differential equations.

In the field of art, Philipp Otto RUNGE (1777-1810) was a renowned German Romantic painter and one of the most influential artists of his time. His works, such as "The Morning" and "The Evening," are considered masterpieces of the Romantic movement.

The surname RUNGE has also been associated with several prominent scientists and scholars throughout history. One such individual was Carl RUNGE (1856-1927), a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis.

Another notable figure was Otto Wilhelm RUNGE (1894-1967), a German chemist and physicist who worked on the development of nuclear energy and was involved in the Manhattan Project during World War II.

While the surname RUNGE is primarily of German origin, it has also been found in other parts of Europe and even in some parts of the Americas, likely due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Runge

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Runge.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Runge was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Runge has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Runge was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Runge, please contact us.

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