2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rusticus
A Latin surname meaning "rustic" or "of the countryside".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rusticus. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rusticus 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rusticus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rusticus, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rusticus
The surname Rusticus has its origins in ancient Rome, deriving from the Latin word "rusticus," which means "rustic" or "rural." It was initially used as a cognomen, or a nickname, to describe someone who lived in the countryside or had a rustic way of life.
In the early days of Rome, the name Rusticus was given to individuals who worked in agriculture or lived in rural areas. It was not uncommon for Roman citizens to adopt such cognomens based on their occupations, physical characteristics, or places of origin.
During the Roman Empire, the name Rusticus appeared in various historical records and documents. One notable mention was in the writings of Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. He referred to a Roman senator named Quintus Iunius Rusticus, who was executed by the Emperor Domitian for praising the philosophers Thrasea Paetus and Helvidius Priscus.
Over time, Rusticus evolved into a hereditary surname, passed down through generations in different regions of the Roman Empire. As the empire expanded, the name spread to various parts of Europe, where it underwent linguistic adaptations and spelling variations.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Rusticus can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appeared in various spellings, such as Rusticus, Rustike, and Rustyk.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Rusticus. One example is Hieronymus Rusticus (c. 1460-1516), a German humanist and scholar who was a professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Leipzig. Another is Franciscus Rusticus (c. 1550-1612), an Italian jurist and diplomat who served as a papal nuncio to various European courts.
In the 17th century, Johannes Rusticus (1597-1677) was a German composer and organist who worked in various churches in Saxony. During the same period, Jacobus Rusticus (1610-1682) was a Dutch painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
One of the more famous bearers of the surname was Theodorus Rusticus (1694-1770), a Dutch theologian and philosopher who was a prominent figure in the Dutch Enlightenment. He wrote extensively on topics such as natural theology, metaphysics, and ethics.
The surname Rusticus has a rich history that can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it originated as a cognomen reflecting a rural or rustic way of life. Over the centuries, it evolved into a hereditary surname and spread across Europe, with various notable individuals bearing the name in different fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rusticus
Among Census respondents with the surname Rusticus, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Rusticus 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 Rusticus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 110
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rusticus
Rusticus 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+9 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 294 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-5 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,305 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.5%) | Down 294 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 5,305 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 Rusticus 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 | #144,141 | #149,446 | -3.7% |
| Count | 115 | 110 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rusticus bearers went from 115 to 110 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 5,305 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rusticus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rusticus?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rusticus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rusticus?
Rusticus ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Rusticus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rusticus.
Has Rusticus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rusticus went from 115 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rusticus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rusticus, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Rusticus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rusticus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Rusticus (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 Rusticus mean?
A Latin surname meaning "rustic" or "of the countryside". 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 Rusticus (0.04 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 Rusticus?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.