2000
#12,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,289
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Ruppel
Derived from the Middle High German word "rupel," meaning a coarse, unmannered person or a ruffian.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,578 Americans carry the last name Ruppel. That puts it at #13,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,954 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ruppel 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
2.6K
1 in 132,954
Census rank
#13,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,248 bearers of the surname Ruppel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruppel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ruppel
The surname RUPPEL has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Ruprecht," which is a variant of the name Rupert. This name has its roots in the Germanic "hruod" meaning "fame" and "beraht" meaning "bright." The surname was likely originally a patronymic, indicating descent from someone named Ruprecht or Rupert.
In the early days, the name was also spelled in various ways, such as Ruppel, Ruppell, Ruppele, and Ruppeln. These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a certain "Ruppertus" is mentioned in the 13th century.
The name RUPPEL has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Ruppel, a German theologian and author who lived in the 16th century (c. 1500-1570). In the 17th century, there was Johann Ruppel (1619-1684), a German composer and organist from Saxony.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell (1794-1884), a German naturalist and explorer who made significant contributions to the study of the fauna and flora of the Red Sea region. His work, "Reise in Nubien, Kordofan und dem Petraeischen Arabien," published in 1829, was a valuable account of his travels and scientific observations.
In the 19th century, there was also Eduard Ruppel (1837-1915), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank and the Märkisches Museum.
More recently, Otto Ruppel (1908-1998) was a German-American physicist and engineer who played a crucial role in the development of radar technology during World War II. He later worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and made significant contributions to the field of microwave electronics.
The surname RUPPEL has undergone various evolutions and spellings over the centuries, but its roots can be traced back to the German regions of its origin, where it was first borne by individuals with the given name Ruprecht or Rupert. While the name may have spread to other parts of the world, its history and etymology remain firmly rooted in its Germanic origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruppel
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruppel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Ruppel 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 Ruppel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,082
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 78
- Two or more races3.0% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ruppel
Ruppel 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
#14,523
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,053
-236 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 2,086 places
2020
#13,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,248
+195 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 1,478 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,437 | 2,289 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,523 | 2,053 | 0.70 | -236 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 2,086 places |
| 2020 | #13,045 | 2,248 | 0.75 | +195 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 1,478 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 Ruppel 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 | #14,523 | #13,045 | 10.2% |
| Count | 2,053 | 2,248 | 9.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.75 | 7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ruppel bearers went from 2,053 to 2,248 (+9.5% change). The surname moved up 1,478 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,523 to #13,045.
FAQ
Ruppel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ruppel?
Name Census estimates that about 2,578 living Americans carry the surname Ruppel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,954 residents.
How common is Ruppel?
Ruppel ranks #13,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,248 people with the surname Ruppel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,578), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Ruppel.
Has Ruppel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ruppel went from 2,053 recorded bearers to 2,248. That is an increase of 195 (+9.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,523 to #13,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Ruppel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruppel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (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 Ruppel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,082 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ruppel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (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 Ruppel (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 Ruppel mean?
Derived from the Middle High German word "rupel," meaning a coarse, unmannered person or a ruffian. 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 Ruppel (0.75 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 Americans have the surname Ruppel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.