NameCensus.

UK surname

Rue

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a lane, alley, or small street.

In the 1881 census there were 94 people recorded with the Rue surname, ranking it #20,467 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 143, ranked #24,505, down from #20,467 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Barrow-on-Soar, Denny and Loughborough. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Neath Port Talbot, Suffolk Coastal and Uttlesford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rue is 166 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 52.1%.

1881 census count

94

Ranked #20,467

Modern count

143

2016, ranked #24,505

Peak year

1901

166 bearers

Map years

5

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Rue had 94 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #20,467 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 143 in 2016, ranked #24,505.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 166 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Rue surname distribution map

The map shows where the Rue surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Rue surname density by area, 2016 modern.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rue over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 125 #14,700
1881 historical 94 #20,467
1891 historical 29 #31,963
1901 historical 166 #17,011
1997 modern 149 #21,214
1998 modern 154 #21,316
1999 modern 157 #21,201
2000 modern 144 #22,357
2001 modern 141 #22,344
2002 modern 147 #22,197
2003 modern 143 #22,367
2004 modern 142 #22,573
2005 modern 139 #22,887
2006 modern 138 #23,156
2007 modern 139 #23,377
2008 modern 136 #24,004
2009 modern 147 #23,248
2010 modern 148 #23,697
2011 modern 141 #24,294
2012 modern 137 #24,731
2013 modern 145 #24,207
2014 modern 146 #24,274
2015 modern 142 #24,617
2016 modern 143 #24,505

Geography

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Where Rues are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Barrow-on-Soar, Denny, Loughborough, Bedwelty and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Neath Port Talbot, Suffolk Coastal and Uttlesford. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Barrow-on-Soar Leicestershire
2 Denny Stirling
3 Loughborough Leicestershire
4 Bedwelty Monmouthshire
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Neath Port Talbot 010 Neath Port Talbot
2 Suffolk Coastal 013 Suffolk Coastal
3 Neath Port Talbot 012 Neath Port Talbot
4 Uttlesford 005 Uttlesford
5 Neath Port Talbot 008 Neath Port Talbot

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rue

These lists show first names that appear often with the Rue surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rue

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Rue, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Rue surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Rue household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Central Connected Professionals and Managers

Group

Senior Professionals

Within London, Rue is most associated with areas classed as Senior Professionals, part of Central Connected Professionals and Managers. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These very central neighbourhoods house residents whose ages are more skewed towards older age cohorts than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Few households have young children. Rates of illness are low. Indian ethnicity is rare compared to the Supergroup mean. Property under occupation is more common, despite the centrality of neighbourhoods, and more residents live in communal establishments than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Adult residents of these neighbourhoods are typically aged 25 to 44, working full-time in professional, managerial or associate professional occupations. There are few families with dependent children. The predominantly Inner London neighbourhoods have an international character, including many residents born elsewhere in Europe alongside high numbers of individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnicity. Many individuals are never married, childless and/or living alone. Above average numbers of individuals, likely to be full-time students, live in communal establishments. Elsewhere, privately rented flats are the dominant housing type. Residents of these areas are well-qualified, with a significant number holding Level 4 or above qualifications. There is a correspondingly high level of individuals employed full-time in professional, managerial and associated professional or technical occupations. Employing industries are financial, real estate, professional, administration, and, to a lesser degree, transport and communications. Unemployment is uncommon.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Rue is most concentrated in decile 6 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Rue falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Rue is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Rue, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Rue

The surname Rue has its origins in France, where it first emerged in the 12th century as a habitational name for someone who lived on or near a street or lane, derived from the Old French word "rue" meaning "street".

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval French records and charters, with variations in spelling such as Ruee, De la Rue, and Derue. One of the earliest known bearers was Raoul de la Rue, a landowner in Normandy who was mentioned in a charter from 1180.

In England, the name Rue is thought to have been introduced by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Ruhe" and "Rua", referring to landowners in several counties.

The surname Rue also has connections to place names, such as the village of Rue in Picardy, France, and the town of Rue in Somerset, England. These locations may have contributed to the adoption of the surname by residents or former residents.

Notable historical figures bearing the surname Rue include:

1. Guillaume de la Rue (c. 1470-1518), a French composer and singer of the Renaissance period. 2. Charles de la Rue (1643-1725), a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled to Canada and the Great Lakes region. 3. Pierre de la Rue (c. 1452-1518), a renowned Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer and singer. 4. John Rue (1587-1659), an English clergyman and author of the 17th century. 5. Philip Rue (1767-1831), an American Revolutionary War soldier and pioneer settler in Ohio.

Over time, the surname Rue has spread across various regions, including France, England, Belgium, Canada, and the United States, with different branches of the family establishing themselves in various locations.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Rue families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rue surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Leicestershire leads with 41 Rues recorded in 1881 and an index of 26.89x.

County Total Index
Leicestershire 41 26.89x
Somerset 24 10.84x
Lanarkshire 13 2.92x
Stirlingshire 11 21.68x
Yorkshire 9 0.66x
Midlothian 7 3.80x
Gloucestershire 6 2.22x
Dunbartonshire 5 13.53x
Aberdeenshire 4 3.14x
Lancashire 3 0.18x
Perthshire 3 4.86x
Angus 2 1.57x
Middlesex 2 0.15x
Nottinghamshire 2 1.08x
Channel Islands 1 2.45x
Derbyshire 1 0.46x
Devon 1 0.35x
Durham 1 0.24x
Fife 1 1.23x
Glamorgan 1 0.42x
Kincardineshire 1 5.97x
Royal Navy 1 6.10x
Surrey 1 0.15x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Loughborough in Leicestershire leads with 22 Rues recorded in 1881 and an index of 317.92x.

Place Total Index
Loughborough 22 317.92x
Barony 12 10.66x
Pitney 11 7333.33x
Falkirk 9 75.82x
Quorndon 9 1046.51x
Bedminster 8 38.46x
Edinburgh Canongate 7 149.25x
Barrow Upon Soar 6 476.19x
Nether Hallam 6 32.54x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 5 19.69x
Row 4 83.68x
Cruden 3 182.93x
Preston 3 6.87x
Wrington 3 405.41x
Bradford 2 6.06x
Comrie 2 227.27x
Dunnichen 2 298.51x
Leicester St Margaret 2 5.38x
Tickenham 2 1250.00x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 1 4.20x
Alva 1 41.32x
Alyth 1 60.24x
Benholm 1 138.89x
Chesterfield 1 12.39x
Croft 1 370.37x
Cumbernauld 1 49.26x
Denny 1 37.04x
Hart 1 100.00x
Hoby 1 666.67x
Kensington London 1 1.31x
Langtree 1 285.71x
Lenton 1 22.88x
Llantrisant 1 16.56x
Manningham 1 5.96x
Markinch 1 36.23x
Nottingham St Mary 1 2.09x
Old Monkland 1 5.67x
South Cerney 1 227.27x
St Helier 1 7.54x
Willesden 1 7.72x
Woking 1 24.75x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Rue surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Emma 5
Ann 4
Annie 4
Elizabeth 4
Fanny 4
Mary 4
Emily 3
Sarah 3
Eliza 2
Louisa 2
Rose 2
Alice 1
Anne 1
Caroline 1
Ellen 1
Emmely 1
Harriet 1
Martha 1
Rebecca 1
Rhoda 1
Susan 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Rue surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 8
William 8
Thomas 7
George 6
James 4
Arthur 2
Walter 2
Benjamin 1
Christoph.F. 1
Frank 1
Jacob 1
Joseph 1
Joshua 1
Josiah 1
Sidney 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Rue surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rue surname in 1881?

In 1881, 94 people were recorded with the Rue surname. That placed it at #20,467 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rue surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 143 in 2016. That gives Rue a modern rank of #24,505.

What does the Rue surname mean?

A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a lane, alley, or small street.

What does the Rue map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Rue bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.