Explore the Family Name Rupe

The meaning of Rupe

1. Americanized form of German Rupp or Ruppe. Compare Roupe. 2. German: from Middle Low German rupe ‘caterpillar’, hence a nickname for a gardener. This surname is rare in Germany.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Rupe saw a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. Ranked as the 8,766th most popular surname in 2000, it dropped to 9,138th by 2010, marking a decrease of 4.24%. However, the count of people with this surname actually increased from 3,446 to 3,572, which suggests a growth of 3.66%. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased during this period from 1.28 to 1.21, showing a reduction of 5.47%.

20002010Change
Rank#8,766#9,138-4.24%
Count3,4463,5723.66%
Proportion per 100k1.281.21-5.47%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rupe

Concerning ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the Rupe surname identified as White in both years, although there was a minor decline from 94.89% in 2000 to 93.67% in 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased slightly from 0.64% to 0.59%. Interestingly, there were positive changes among other ethnic identities: those reporting two or more races increased from 1.51% to 1.76%, Hispanic identification rose from 1.68% to 2.46%, Black increased from 0.26% to 0.39%, and American Indian and Alaskan Native grew from 1.02% to 1.12% within the same decade.

20002010Change
White94.89%93.67%-1.29%
Hispanic1.68%2.46%46.43%
Two or More Races1.51%1.76%16.56%
American Indian and Alaskan Native1.02%1.12%9.8%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.64%0.59%-7.81%
Black0.26%0.39%50%

Rupe ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Rupe is British & Irish, which comprises 54.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (27.3%) and Scandinavian (3.9%). Additional ancestries include Indigenous American, Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Italian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish54.5%
French & German27.3%
Scandinavian3.9%
Other14.3%
Rupe

Possible origins of the surname Rupe

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Rupe have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Merseyside, United Kingdom91.40%
Belfast, United Kingdom91.40%
Greater London, United Kingdom91.40%
West Midlands, United Kingdom91.40%
Lancashire, United Kingdom91.40%

What Rupe haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Rupe is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Rupe surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

rupePaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Rupe have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Rupe

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Rupe" Surname 52.5%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Rupe

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Rupe" Surname 33.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Rupe

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Rupe" Surname 20.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Rupe

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Rupe" Surname 15.4%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Rupe?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Rupe are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%