Explore the Family Name Russian

The meaning of Russian

1. Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) surname, possibly Rusin or Rosseyny, Rossiensky, a habitational name from a place called Rossieny, now Raseiniai in Lithuania. 2. Italianized or Americanized form of Slovenian Rusjan: derivative of rus ‘brownish red’ (compare Rus). Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Myer.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname 'Russian' has seen a slight shift in popularity over time. In 2000, it held the rank of 36,572 but fell to 36,970 by 2010, marking a decrease of 1.09%. Despite this drop in rank, the count of people carrying the 'Russian' surname rose from 577 in 2000 to 604 in 2010, an increase of 4.68%. However, its proportion per 100,000 people saw a slight decline of 4.76%, falling from 0.21 to 0.2.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#36,572	#36,970	-1.09%
Count	577	604	4.68%
Proportion per 100k	0.21	0.2	-4.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Russian

The ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Russian' has also evolved between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The proportion identifying as White dropped from 86.48% in 2000 to 81.13% in 2010, while those identifying as Hispanic rose significantly from 4.85% to 9.44%. There was also a modest increase in those identifying as Black, moving from 6.59% to 7.28%. Interestingly, while there were no individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2000, by 2010, 0.83% identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native. Conversely, those identifying with two or more races went from 1.39% in 2000 to zero in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	86.48%	81.13%	-6.19%
Hispanic	4.85%	9.44%	94.64%
Black	6.59%	7.28%	10.47%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.83%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	1.39%	0%	0%