2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rutheford
A surname originating from a place name referring to a ford of reddish hue.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Rutheford. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rutheford 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Rutheford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutheford, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and Black (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rutheford
The surname Rutheford is of English origin, with roots dating back to the medieval era. It is believed to have originated from the place name "Rutherford" in Roxburghshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the Old English words "hryther" meaning cattle and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing, suggesting it may have referred to a location where cattle crossed a ford.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Rudresford." This entry provides evidence that the name existed in England during the 11th century. Over time, the spelling evolved to its modern form, Rutheford.
In the 13th century, historical records mention a John de Rutherford, who was a landowner in Roxburghshire, Scotland. This indicates that the Rutheford surname had established itself in both England and Scotland by this time.
During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Rutheford name was Samuel Rutheford (1600-1661), a Scottish Presbyterian theologian and one of the commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. He was known for his work "Lex, Rex" which defended the idea of constitutional monarchy.
In the 18th century, Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819) was a Scottish chemist and physician who is credited with the discovery of nitrogen gas. He was also a professor of botany and materia medica at the University of Edinburgh.
Another prominent individual with the Rutheford surname was Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), a New Zealand-born British physicist who is considered the father of nuclear physics. He conducted groundbreaking research on radioactivity and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 for his work on the structure of the atom.
In the realm of literature, Mark Rutherford (1831-1913) was the pen name of William Hale White, an English novelist and essayist known for his autobiographical novel "The Revolution in Tanner's Lane."
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the Rutheford surname throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence across various fields and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rutheford
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutheford, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and Black (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rutheford 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 Rutheford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 86
- Two or more races6.6% · 7
- Black or African American4.7% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rutheford
Rutheford 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+21 bearers (+19.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,146 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-24 bearers (-18.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,729 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +21 bearers (+19.3%) | Up 10,146 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-18.5%) | Down 21,729 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 Rutheford 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 | #130,610 | #152,339 | -16.6% |
| Count | 130 | 106 | -18.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rutheford bearers went from 130 to 106 (-18.5% change). The surname moved down 21,729 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #152,339.
FAQ
Rutheford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rutheford?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Rutheford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Rutheford?
Rutheford ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Rutheford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Rutheford.
Has Rutheford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rutheford went from 130 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 24 (-18.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Rutheford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutheford, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and Black (4.7%). 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 Rutheford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rutheford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.1%), Two or More Races (6.6%), Black (4.7%). 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 Rutheford (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 Rutheford mean?
A surname originating from a place name referring to a ford of reddish hue. 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 Rutheford (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 people have the last name Rutheford?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Rutheford? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.