2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Rustam
A surname derived from the Persian name Rustam, a legendary hero from the Shahnameh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 158 Americans carry the last name Rustam. That puts it at #129,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,169,331 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rustam 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
158
1 in 2,169,331
Census rank
#129,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
138
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 138 bearers of the surname Rustam in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 129045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rustam, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%) and Two or More Races (10.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rustam
The surname RUSTAM is believed to have originated in the Persian region, now modern-day Iran and surrounding areas. It dates back to the ancient Persia era, likely before the 7th century AD. The name is derived from the Persian word "Rustam," which means "deliverer" or "savior."
RUSTAM is thought to be derived from the name of a legendary Persian warrior and hero, Rustam, from the epic poem Shahnameh written by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. This epic poem chronicled the history of Greater Iran and its mythological heroes, with Rustam being one of the most prominent figures.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname RUSTAM can be found in the Tahirid dynasty of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled parts of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia from the 9th to the 11th century. During this period, individuals with the surname RUSTAM were mentioned in various historical texts and records.
In the 13th century, a prominent figure named Rustam Faramarz Rumi, born in 1207 in Balkh (now in modern-day Afghanistan), was a renowned Persian poet and mystic. He was a disciple of the famous Sufi poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi and is considered one of the greatest poets of the Persian language.
Another notable bearer of the surname RUSTAM was Rustam Khan, a military commander and governor who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. He played a significant role in the Mughal campaigns against the Maratha Empire in the Deccan region of India.
During the 18th century, Rustam Ali Khan was a prominent Persian nobleman and military leader who served as the governor of Kandahar (now in modern-day Afghanistan) under the Afsharid and Zand dynasties. He was known for his successful defense of Kandahar against multiple invasions.
In more recent history, Rustam Ibragimbekov, born in 1939, is a renowned Azerbaijani screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his collaborations with renowned Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov and for his Oscar-nominated screenplay for the film "Burnt by the Sun" in 1994.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rustam
Among Census respondents with the surname Rustam, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%) and Two or More Races (10.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Rustam 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 Rustam surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.5% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander34.1% · 47
- Two or more races10.1% · 14
- Black or African American6.5% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rustam
Rustam appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#129,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
+35 bearers (+34.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 28,189 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #129,045 | 138 | 0.05 | +35 bearers (+34.0%) | Up 28,189 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 Rustam 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 | #157,234 | #129,045 | 17.9% |
| Count | 103 | 138 | 34.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.05 | 53.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rustam bearers went from 103 to 138 (+34.0% change). The surname moved up 28,189 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #129,045.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rustam
FAQ
Rustam surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rustam?
Name Census estimates that about 158 living Americans carry the surname Rustam. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,169,331 residents.
How common is Rustam?
Rustam ranks #129,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 138 people with the surname Rustam. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (158), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Rustam.
Has Rustam become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rustam went from 103 recorded bearers to 138. That is an increase of 35 (+34.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #129,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Rustam?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rustam, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%) and Two or More Races (10.1%). 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 Rustam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.5% (60 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rustam appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (43.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%), Two or More Races (10.1%). 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 Rustam (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 Rustam mean?
A surname derived from the Persian name Rustam, a legendary hero from the Shahnameh. 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 Rustam (0.05 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 surname Rustam?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.