The Ruf surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,794 people carried this name — #16,130 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 163,900 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (1,796).
In Switzerland’s population statistics
1,610 people named Ruf live in Switzerland.
They live in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 309 people named Ruf.
39 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 34 départements, most often Isère.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 87 people named Ruf 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.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Ruf in American newspapers,
1903–1930.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 246,080 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Ruf,
with a public archive behind them.
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Jakob Ruf 1500–1558 · writer
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Jakob Ruf 1505–1558 · writer
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Sebastian Ruf 1802–1877 · psychologist
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Sebastian Ruf 1802–1877 · psychologist
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Heinrich Ruf 1827–1883 · sculptor
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Conrad Ruf 1840–1922 · photographer
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Ruf.
- Rueff 536 · U.S. census
- Ruel 1,387 · U.S. census
- Ruelle 559 · U.S. census
- Ruen 290 · U.S. census
- Ruesch 1,054 · U.S. census
- Ruez 229 · U.S. census
- Rufenacht 391 · U.S. census
- Rufer 416 · U.S. census
- Ruff 15,383 · U.S. census
- Ruffenach 131 · U.S. census
- Ruffier 118 · U.S. census
- Ruffin 16,324 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Ruf 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.