Explore the Family Name Rugg
The meaning of Rugg
1. English: from Middle English rugge ‘ridge’, a form found widely in the West Midlands, parts of southwestern England, and as far east as Sussex. It is synonymous with Ridge and denotes someone who lived on or by a ridge, or who came from a place so named, such as Rudge (Staffordshire, Somerset), or Rudge in Froxfield (Wiltshire). 2. English: perhaps occasionally a nickname from Anglo-Norman French r(o)uge (Old French rouge) ‘red’, presumably for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Compare Rouse. 3. South German (Rügg): from the medieval personal name Rüegg, a shortened form of Rudiger.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Rugg in the United States?
The popularity of the surname Rugg, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, decreased slightly between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 9,814th most popular surname with a count of 3,042. However, by 2010, its rank had slipped to 10,704 and the count had dropped to 2,986 — a decrease of 1.84%. The proportion of the surname per 100,000 people also decreased by 10.62% during this period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,814 | #10,704 | -9.07% |
| Count | 3,042 | 2,986 | -1.84% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.13 | 1.01 | -10.62% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rugg
Concerning ethnicity data from the Decennial U.S. Census, those identifying as White made up the vast majority of individuals with the surname Rugg in both years, with a slight increase from 94.38% in 2000 to 94.78% in 2010. The number of people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those reporting two or more races also increased, by 33.33% and 83.16% respectively. However, there was a notable decrease in those who identified as Hispanic (a drop of 19.84%) and Black (a decrease of 52.70%). The percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native remained relatively stable, only decreasing by 5.13%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.38% | 94.78% | 0.42% |
| Hispanic | 2.47% | 1.98% | -19.84% |
| Two or More Races | 0.95% | 1.74% | 83.16% |
| Black | 1.48% | 0.7% | -52.7% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.33% | 0.44% | 33.33% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.39% | 0.37% | -5.13% |