Explore the Family Name Runner

The meaning of Runner

Probably an altered form of German Ronner, an occupational name for a runner or messenger, a lightly armed mounted soldier; from runnen, also ronnen, a younger form of Middle Low German rennen ‘to run’.

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

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

According to data based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "Runner" saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the Runner name was ranked 16,655 in popularity, but by 2010 it had slipped slightly to rank 17,014 – a negative change of 2.16%. However, the actual count of people with the Runner surname did increase during this period, from 1,583 in 2000 to 1,670 in 2010. This represents a positive growth of 5.5%, but the proportion per 100k people diminished by 3.39%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#16,655	#17,014	-2.16%
Count	1,583	1,670	5.5%
Proportion per 100k	0.59	0.57	-3.39%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Runner

The ethnicity associated with the surname "Runner," according to Decennial U.S. Census data, has shown some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with the Runner surname identified as White, although the percentage slightly dipped from 84.97% to 83.95%. There was a notable increase in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, rising from 0.57% in 2000 to 0.90% in 2010. Additionally, more people identified as belonging to two or more races and as American Indian and Alaskan Native, with increases of 40.44% and 21.74% respectively. Meanwhile, there was a slight uptick in those identifying as Black (from 10.04% to 10.06%), while the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic decreased from 1.90% to 1.68%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	84.97%	83.95%	-1.2%
Black	10.04%	10.06%	0.2%
Two or More Races	1.83%	2.57%	40.44%
Hispanic	1.9%	1.68%	-11.58%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.57%	0.9%	57.89%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.69%	0.84%	21.74%