2000
#13,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,049
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Ruck
An occupational surname for someone who made or used rakes, or a nickname for a cunning, deceitful person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,976 Americans carry the last name Ruck. That puts it at #16,232 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 173,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ruck 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 Ruck with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 173,459
Census rank
#16,232
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,723 bearers of the surname Ruck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16232nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruck, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ruck
The surname RUCK is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word 'rucke', meaning a hill or ridge. The name first emerged in the 14th century in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, where many families adopted locational surnames based on the prominent geographical features near their homesteads.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name RUCK can be found in the Rottweil town records of 1372, where a Hans Ruck is listed as a resident. The name also appears in various medieval manuscripts and charters, such as the Würzburg Diocesan Records from the late 15th century, which reference a family of Rucks living in the vicinity.
In the 16th century, the name RUCK began to spread beyond its original regional boundaries, with families bearing this surname appearing in the records of towns and villages across southern Germany. Notable individuals from this era include Johann Ruck (1499-1567), a renowned theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, and Hans Ruck (1521-1598), a master stonemason who worked on several prominent cathedrals in Bavaria.
As the RUCK families prospered and migrated, the name found its way into other parts of Europe and beyond. In the 17th century, a branch of the family settled in the Netherlands, where the name was recorded as 'Ruck' and 'Rucke'. Around this time, the name also appeared in the records of German emigrants to the British colonies in North America.
Over the centuries, the RUCK surname has been associated with various notable figures, such as Friedrich Ruck (1746-1819), a German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. In the 19th century, Johann Ruck (1825-1899) was a prominent architect responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Munich.
Another significant figure was Carl Ruck (1870-1938), a German-born American businessman who founded the Ruck Brewing Company in St. Louis, Missouri, which became one of the largest breweries in the United States during the early 20th century. More recently, Peter Ruck (1940-2022) was a renowned German journalist and author known for his investigative reporting on political and social issues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruck
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruck, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ruck 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 Ruck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 1,495
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 91
- Black or African American3.7% · 64
- Two or more races3.4% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ruck
Ruck 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
#14,458
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,066
+17 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 865 places
2020
#16,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,723
-343 bearers (-16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Down 1,774 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,593 | 2,049 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,458 | 2,066 | 0.70 | +17 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 865 places |
| 2020 | #16,232 | 1,723 | 0.58 | -343 bearers (-16.6%) | Down 1,774 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 Ruck 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 | #14,458 | #16,232 | -12.3% |
| Count | 2,066 | 1,723 | -16.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.58 | -17.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ruck bearers went from 2,066 to 1,723 (-16.6% change). The surname moved down 1,774 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,458 to #16,232.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ruck
FAQ
Ruck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ruck?
Name Census estimates that about 1,976 living Americans carry the surname Ruck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 173,459 residents.
How common is Ruck?
Ruck ranks #16,232 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,723 people with the surname Ruck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,976), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ruck.
Has Ruck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ruck went from 2,066 recorded bearers to 1,723. That is a decrease of 343 (-16.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,458 to #16,232.
What does the Census say about the background of Ruck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruck, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Ruck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (1,495 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ruck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (5.3%), Black (3.7%). 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 Ruck (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 Ruck mean?
An occupational surname for someone who made or used rakes, or a nickname for a cunning, deceitful person. 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 Ruck (0.58 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 Ruck?
Want to know how many people have the surname Ruck? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.