2000
#2,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,816
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.38
Uncommon Last name
Rust
An English occupational surname referring to someone who gathered or sold a reddish-brown iron oxide.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,419 Americans carry the last name Rust. That puts it at #3,004 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,542 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rust 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 Rust with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 25,542
Census rank
#3,004
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,702 bearers of the surname Rust in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3004th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rust, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rust
The surname Rust is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "rust," which referred to the reddish-brown oxide that forms on iron or steel when exposed to moisture and air. The name likely arose as a descriptive surname, given to someone with rust-colored hair or complexion.
In its earliest recorded forms, the surname appeared as "le Rust" or "le Ruste" in the 13th century. These early spellings indicate that the name was initially preceded by the Norman-French definite article "le," a common practice for descriptive surnames of that era.
The Rust surname is found in various historical records, including the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a Walter le Rust in Oxfordshire. Another early reference is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301, mentioning a John le Rust.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rust surname is Robert le Rust, who is mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292. In the 14th century, the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, with a Thomas Rust recorded in 1327.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the Rust surname include Sir Benjamin Rust (1642-1713), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Rye. John Rust (1701-1749) was a renowned English clergyman and theologian, best known for his work "A Discourse on Truth."
In the 18th century, Edward Rust (1757-1833) was a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench in Upper Canada (now Ontario, Canada). Another notable figure was Thomas Cyprian Rust (1805-1887), an English Anglican clergyman and author who wrote extensively on theology and church history.
Moving into the 19th century, George Rust (1828-1897) was a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Geographical Society's former headquarters.
Throughout its history, the Rust surname has been associated with various place names, such as Rust in Hampshire, England, and Rust in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which may have influenced the name's origins or contributed to its spread across regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rust
Among Census respondents with the surname Rust, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rust 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 Rust surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 10,580
- Two or more races3.5% · 404
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 403
- Black or African American1.3% · 151
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 68
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rust
Rust 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
#2,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,086
+270 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 4.10
Rank movement Down 172 places
2020
#3,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,702
-384 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 3.92
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,795 | 11,816 | 4.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,967 | 12,086 | 4.10 | +270 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 172 places |
| 2020 | #3,004 | 11,702 | 3.92 | -384 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 37 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 Rust 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 | #2,967 | #3,004 | -1.2% |
| Count | 12,086 | 11,702 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.10 | 3.92 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rust bearers went from 12,086 to 11,702 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,967 to #3,004.
FAQ
Rust surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rust?
Name Census estimates that about 13,419 living Americans carry the surname Rust. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,542 residents.
How common is Rust?
Rust ranks #3,004 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,702 people with the surname Rust. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,419), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Rust.
Has Rust become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rust went from 12,086 recorded bearers to 11,702. That is a decrease of 384 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,967 to #3,004.
What does the Census say about the background of Rust?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rust, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Rust in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (10,580 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rust appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Rust (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 Rust mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who gathered or sold a reddish-brown iron oxide. 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 Rust (3.92 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 Rust?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.