2000
#6,370
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,921
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.82
Rare Last name
Runge
A German occupational surname denoting a person who made or sold wooden rings or hoops, such as for barrels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,236 Americans carry the last name Runge. That puts it at #7,073 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,461 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Runge 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
5.2K
1 in 65,461
Census rank
#7,073
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,566 bearers of the surname Runge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7073rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Runge, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Runge
Among Census respondents with the surname Runge, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Runge 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 Runge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 4,192
- Two or more races3.4% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 36
- Black or African American0.6% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Runge
Runge 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
#6,591
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,139
+218 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 221 places
2020
#7,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,566
-573 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 482 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,370 | 4,921 | 1.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,591 | 5,139 | 1.74 | +218 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 221 places |
| 2020 | #7,073 | 4,566 | 1.53 | -573 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 482 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 Runge 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 | #6,591 | #7,073 | -7.3% |
| Count | 5,139 | 4,566 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.53 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Runge bearers went from 5,139 to 4,566 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 482 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,591 to #7,073.
FAQ
Runge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Runge?
Name Census estimates that about 5,236 living Americans carry the surname Runge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,461 residents.
How common is Runge?
Runge ranks #7,073 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.53 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 4,566 people with the surname Runge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,236), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.53 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 Runge.
Has Runge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Runge went from 5,139 recorded bearers to 4,566. That is a decrease of 573 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,591 to #7,073.
What does the Census say about the background of Runge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Runge, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Runge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (4,192 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Runge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Runge (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 Runge mean?
A German occupational surname denoting a person who made or sold wooden rings or hoops, such as for barrels. 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 Runge (1.53 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 Runge?
You can see how common the surname Runge is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.