2000
#1,167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,539
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.21
Uncommon Last name
Rutherford
A habitational surname derived from places in the Scottish Borders, Northern England, and elsewhere, meaning "cattle river crossing."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 30,580 Americans carry the last name Rutherford. That puts it at #1,290 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,208 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rutherford 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 Rutherford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
31K
1 in 11,208
Census rank
#1,290
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
27K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,667 bearers of the surname Rutherford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1290th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutherford, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rutherford
The surname Rutherford has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "hryther" meaning cattle and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing, indicating that the name likely referred to a cattle crossing or a ford used by cattle herders. The name is associated with the town of Rutherford in the Scottish Borders region.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Rutherford can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document containing the names of Scottish nobles who pledged allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "de Rothirford," reflecting an older spelling variation.
In the 14th century, the Rutherford family established themselves as a prominent clan in the Scottish Borders, with their ancestral seat at Rutherford Castle near the village of Maxton. The Rutherfords played a significant role in the Border Reivers, a series of raids and conflicts that took place along the Anglo-Scottish border during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Notable individuals with the surname Rutherford include Sir Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), a Scottish Presbyterian theologian and author who was a prominent figure in the Covenanter movement. Another influential figure was Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819), a Scottish chemist and physician who discovered nitrogen gas and its role in the Earth's atmosphere.
In the field of science, Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), a New Zealand-born British physicist, made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and radioactivity. He is often referred to as the "father of nuclear physics" and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908.
Other notable figures include Andrew Rutherford (1832-1899), a Scottish-born politician and journalist who served as the first Premier of New Zealand from 1891 to 1893, and Mark Rutherford (1832-1913), the pen name of William Hale White, an English novelist and essayist known for his works exploring themes of religion and social commentary.
The surname Rutherford has a rich history, with its roots firmly planted in the Scottish Borders region and a notable presence among influential figures across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rutherford
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutherford, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rutherford 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 Rutherford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.2% · 21,111
- Black or African American11.6% · 3,081
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,216
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 824
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 269
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 166
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rutherford
Rutherford 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
#1,250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,079
+540 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 9.52
Rank movement Down 83 places
2020
#1,290
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,667
-1,412 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 8.92
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,167 | 27,539 | 10.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,250 | 28,079 | 9.52 | +540 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 83 places |
| 2020 | #1,290 | 26,667 | 8.92 | -1,412 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 40 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 Rutherford 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 | #1,250 | #1,290 | -3.2% |
| Count | 28,079 | 26,667 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 9.52 | 8.92 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rutherford bearers went from 28,079 to 26,667 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,250 to #1,290.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rutherford
FAQ
Rutherford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rutherford?
Name Census estimates that about 30,580 living Americans carry the surname Rutherford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,208 residents.
How common is Rutherford?
Rutherford ranks #1,290 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,667 people with the surname Rutherford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (30,580), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Rutherford.
Has Rutherford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rutherford went from 28,079 recorded bearers to 26,667. That is a decrease of 1,412 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,250 to #1,290.
What does the Census say about the background of Rutherford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutherford, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Rutherford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (21,111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rutherford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.2%), Black (11.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Rutherford (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 Rutherford mean?
A habitational surname derived from places in the Scottish Borders, Northern England, and elsewhere, meaning "cattle river crossing." 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 Rutherford (8.92 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 people are called Rutherford?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Rutherford, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.