2000
#10,501
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,806
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Rusnak
A surname of Slavic origin referring to a person with light brown or reddish-brown hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,039 Americans carry the last name Rusnak. That puts it at #11,377 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,785 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rusnak 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
3.0K
1 in 112,785
Census rank
#11,377
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,650 bearers of the surname Rusnak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11377th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rusnak, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rusnak
The surname Rusnak is of Slavic origin, specifically from the regions of modern-day Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century, derived from the Slavic word "rus," which referred to the East Slavic people and their lands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rusnak can be found in the Hypatian Codex, a 13th-century Russian chronicle. The codex mentions a certain Rusnak Mikhailovich, who was a prominent military commander during the reign of Prince Sviatoslav II of Kiev.
In the 15th century, the Rusnak surname appeared in various Polish and Lithuanian records, indicating the spread of the name throughout Eastern Europe. For instance, a nobleman named Jan Rusnak was mentioned in a 1482 document from the town of Lublin, now in modern-day Poland.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Rusnak name became more prevalent in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia, which were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Bohdan Rusnak (1558-1624), a Cossack leader who played a significant role in the Polish-Muscovite War of 1609-1618.
In the 19th century, the Rusnak surname was found in various parts of the Russian Empire, particularly in Ukraine and Belarus. One notable figure was Mikhail Rusnak (1828-1899), a Ukrainian writer and ethnographer who made significant contributions to the study of Ukrainian folk culture.
Other notable individuals with the surname Rusnak throughout history include:
1. Teodor Rusnak (1865-1940), a Ukrainian-Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
2. Alexei Rusnak (1916-2007), a Soviet and Russian film director known for his work in the genre of war films.
3. Ihor Rusnak (born 1972), a Ukrainian-Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for directing the 2004 thriller "Darkness Falls."
4. Yaroslav Rusnak (born 1986), a Ukrainian professional football player who has played for various clubs in Ukraine and Russia.
5. Mykola Rusnak (born 1994), a Ukrainian professional football player who currently plays as a midfielder for the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Rusnak surname has its roots in the Slavic lands of Eastern Europe and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including military leaders, writers, politicians, filmmakers, and athletes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rusnak
Among Census respondents with the surname Rusnak, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rusnak 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 Rusnak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.1% · 2,519
- Two or more races2.1% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 21
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rusnak
Rusnak 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
#11,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,775
-31 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 867 places
2020
#11,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,650
-125 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,501 | 2,806 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,368 | 2,775 | 0.94 | -31 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 867 places |
| 2020 | #11,377 | 2,650 | 0.89 | -125 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 9 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 Rusnak 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 | #11,368 | #11,377 | -0.1% |
| Count | 2,775 | 2,650 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.89 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rusnak bearers went from 2,775 to 2,650 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,368 to #11,377.
FAQ
Rusnak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rusnak?
Name Census estimates that about 3,039 living Americans carry the surname Rusnak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,785 residents.
How common is Rusnak?
Rusnak ranks #11,377 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 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 2,650 people with the surname Rusnak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,039), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 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 Rusnak.
Has Rusnak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rusnak went from 2,775 recorded bearers to 2,650. That is a decrease of 125 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,368 to #11,377.
What does the Census say about the background of Rusnak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rusnak, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Rusnak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (2,519 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rusnak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.1%), Two or More Races (2.1%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Rusnak (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 Rusnak mean?
A surname of Slavic origin referring to a person with light brown or reddish-brown hair. 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 Rusnak (0.89 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 share the surname Rusnak?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.