The Ruiz surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 238,234 people carried this name — #89 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,240 people counted. That is up 36% from 175,429 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Ruiz surname
A surname originating as a patronymic.
From Ruy + -ez.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Ruiz» (Spanish), 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 232,729 people named Ruiz 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 5,796 people named Ruiz.
Most of them — 2,943 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 92 départements, most often Hauts-de-Seine.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
1,346 people named Ruiz live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 59 people named Ruiz live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Flemish Brabant.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
152 people named Ruiz are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Ruiz in American newspapers,
1839–1962.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 72,314 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Ruiz,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Simón Ruiz Embito 1525–1597 · merchant -
Lorenzo Ruiz 1594–1637 · missionary -
Francisco Ruiz Gijón 1653–1720 · sculptor -
Pascual Ruiz Huidobro 1752–1813 · military personnel -
Hipólito Ruiz López 1754–1816 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 172 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Ruiz.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Ruiz 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.