Explore the Family Name Ruelle

The meaning of Ruelle

1. French: topographic name for someone who lived in a narrow street, from a diminutive of rue ‘road, street’. 2. Altered form of French Ruel, in part a cognate of 1 above. Some characteristic forenames: French Patrice, Rodolphe.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Ruelle in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Ruelle has experienced a slight decrease in popularity between the years 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Ruelle was ranked 38,706 in terms of surnames in the United States, while by 2010 it had slipped to rank 39,352. This represents a change of -1.67. However, the actual number of individuals with the surname Ruelle increased from 537 to 559 during this period, showing a growth rate of 4.1. Though this might seem paradoxical, it is due to the overall increase in population, which also caused the proportion per 100,000 people to decrease slightly.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#38,706	#39,352	-1.67%
Count	537	559	4.1%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.19	-5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ruelle

Looking at the ethnicity breakdown, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the vast majority of individuals with the surname Ruelle identify as White, although there were minor shifts in this ethnic identity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, 98.32 percent identified as White, dropping slightly to 97.67 percent in 2010. There were no individuals who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year. Interesting to note is the introduction of multiple racial identities in 2010, where 0.89 percent identified as belonging to two or more races. Similarly, there was a small portion (0.89 percent) that identified as Hispanic.

	2000	2010	Change
White	98.32%	97.67%	-0.66%
Two or More Races	0%	0.89%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0.89%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%