Ruston
Rustic name derived from an English place name, perhaps meaning "farmstead" or "village".
Name Census estimates that about 873 living Americans carry the first name Ruston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ruston today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruston births was 2023 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruston. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
873
~ 1 in 392,617 Americans
Peak year
2023
43 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,029
Tracked since 1948
Census
Ruston in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 657 people with the first name Ruston, which placed it at #16,975 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,975
National first-name rank
People counted
657
657 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruston
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruston is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ruston 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ruston at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 569
- Black or African American4.4% · 29
- Two or more races3.5% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6
Popularity
Ruston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruston from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 197 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruston by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ruston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rustons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Ruston, while Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruston
The name Ruston is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots dating back to the 5th century AD. It is thought to be derived from the combination of two words: "rust," meaning reddish-brown, and "tun," which referred to a town or settlement. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe a person living in a town or area with reddish-brown soil or surroundings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ruston can be found in the Domesday Book, a historic record compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Ruston, who held estates in various parts of England. This suggests that the name was in use among the Anglo-Saxon population before the Norman Conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ruston appeared sporadically in historical records, often associated with individuals from the gentry or nobility. One notable figure was Sir Ruston de Lacy, a 13th-century knight who served under King Edward I and participated in the Welsh Wars. Another was Ruston Fitzwilliam, a 14th-century nobleman and landowner from Yorkshire.
As the centuries progressed, the name Ruston continued to be used, although its popularity waxed and waned. In the 16th century, a renowned English poet and playwright named Ruston Greene gained recognition for his works, which included plays and sonnets. Unfortunately, little is known about his life beyond his literary accomplishments.
Moving into the 19th century, Ruston became a more common given name, particularly in England and parts of the United States. One notable bearer of the name was Ruston Proctor, an American inventor and entrepreneur born in 1816, who is credited with developing the first successful centrifugal fan and establishing the Proctor & Schwartz Company, a leading manufacturer of industrial fans and blowers.
In the 20th century, Ruston Hornsby was a British engineer and industrialist born in 1894, who played a significant role in the development of agricultural machinery. His company, Ruston & Hornsby Ltd., was a major producer of tractors and other farm equipment, contributing to the mechanization of agriculture in the early 20th century.
While the name Ruston has never been among the most popular given names, it has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its unique origins and associations with notable individuals from various fields have contributed to its enduring appeal as a distinctive and meaningful moniker.
People
Ruston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruston as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ruston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 873 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruston going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 392,617 US residents.
Is Ruston a common name?
We classify Ruston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 910 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruston most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruston was 2023, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruston is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ruston in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 657 people with the name Ruston, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,975 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ruston in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ruston?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ruston leans strongly male. 644 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 7 female bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ruston?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruston is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ruston most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ruston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (569 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ruston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ruston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ruston in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ruston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ruston in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ruston can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Ruston?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Ruston, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.