The Rusk surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,701 people carried this name — #7,117 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,900 people counted. That is down 3% from 4,832 in 2000.

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In the Nordic population registers

96 people named Rusk are counted in Finland and Sweden.

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

Finland (2026) 55
Sweden (2022) 41

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

Rusk in American newspapers,
1862–1892.

Newspaper page from The Semi-weekly Shreveport News carrying the name Rusk
The Semi-weekly Shreveport News 1862-11-04
Newspaper page from St. Paul Daily Globe carrying the name Rusk
St. Paul Daily Globe 1884-11-05
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Rusk
The Portland Daily Press 1892-01-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 119,290 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Rusk in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

4,868 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rusk. The most, 2,807, date from the 1960s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 2.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,694
ACT (Canberra) 1,298
South Australia 730
New South Wales 502
Victoria 465
Western Australia 111
Tasmania 62

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rusk.

Who carried it

People named Rusk,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Jefferson Rusk
    Thomas Jefferson Rusk 1803–1857 · judge
  • Jeremiah McLain Rusk
    Jeremiah McLain Rusk 1830–1893 · politician
  • John Rusk
    John Rusk 1849–1910 · clergyman
  • Harry Welles Rusk
    Harry Welles Rusk 1852–1926 · lawyer
  • John P. Rusk
    John P. Rusk 1873–1943 · lawyer
  • Matilda Rusk 1827–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Rusk,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States400 records

400 records of the Rusk name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 153
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 69
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 66
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 62
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 26
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 16
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Carroll R. Rusk

    Born 1912 in Wisconsin. Enlisted 1941 at Milwaukee; bookkeeper from Wood County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Riverside Cemetery, Nekoosa, Wisconsin.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johannes Rusk

    Arrived at New York in 1897 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; laborer. From Finland, Russia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Clovis B. Rusk

    U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Born 1933, died 1990; buried at Florida National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 400 records for Rusk in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia72 records

72 records of the Rusk name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 55
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 11
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alexander Rusk

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Orwell, aged 46; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Rusk

    Laborer of Mordialloc, Victoria; died 1903.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Henry Rusk

    Left Hobart in 1832 aboard the Mary and Elizabeth, bound for Sydney.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 72 records for Rusk in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada32 records

32 records of the Rusk name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 7
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 7
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lloyd Allison Rusk

    Buried in 1992 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 67.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Cornelius Francis Rusk

    Died 1953 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Samuel Elmer Rusk

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 32 records for Rusk in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands5 records

5 records of the Rusk name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Geeske Roelfs Rusk

    Died 1851 in Oostwold (Midwolda), aged 68; labourer.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Rusk

    Married in 1897 in Amsterdam; cook.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jacoba Antonia Rusk

    In a population register; born 1853 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Rusk in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Rusk name in the United Kingdom Scottish rolls of honour, First World War
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Geo A. Rusk

    Served in the First World War. Named in the roll of honour of New Year 1915.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Rusk name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Ewald Rusk

    From Usedom. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 29 March 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 9).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Rusk.

When the index is not enough

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