The Rua surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,359 people carried this name — #19,796 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 217,400 people counted. That is up 28% from 1,060 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Rua surname
Borrowed from Italian Rua and Galician Rúa.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rua» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,731 people named Rua live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 193 people named Rua.
64 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
44 people named Rua live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
Who carried it
People named Rua,
with a public archive behind them.
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Michael Rua 1837–1910 · Catholic priest -
Giuseppe Rua 1865–1928 · editor
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Gullik Rua 1878–1931 · photographer
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Daithi Rua 1901– · singer
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John Rua 1951– · carver
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Vitor Rua 1961– · composer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rua.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rua is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.