How Many People Are Named William Rust?

There are approximately 91 people named William Rust living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,766,531 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name William with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Rust. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

91

1 in 3,766,531 Americans

Combination Rarity

Rare

Very Rare Very Common

William: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name William. The peak year was 1947 with 67,155 births. The average person named William today is 54 years old.

Male
Female
0 13K 27K 40K 54K 67K 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name William

In the 2020 Census, the first name William was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (83.31%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (6.87%) and Hispanic (5.13%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name William in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how William rose or fell over time.

White
83.31%
Black
6.87%
Hispanic
5.13%
Asian/Pacific Islander
1.40%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.53%
Two or More Races
2.76%

Ancestry of the Rust Surname

The surname Rust was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Rust in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White
90.41%
Black
1.29%
Hispanic
3.44%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.82%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.58%
Two or More Races
3.45%

How we calculated this

The first name "William" has an estimated frequency of 0.681% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Rust" appears at a rate of 3.92 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name William are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 91 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

William Rust: Questions and Answers

How many people are named William Rust?

We estimate approximately 91 people named William Rust are alive in the United States today. The first name William is shared by 2,335,115 Americans, and the surname Rust is shared by 13,419.

How rare is the name William Rust?

This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,766,531 Americans. The first name William is very common and the surname Rust is uncommon.

Is William a male or female name?

William is predominantly male, with 99.6% of bearers being male and 0.4% female. It peaked in popularity in 1947 and the average bearer today is 54 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name William?

In the 2020 Census, the first name William was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (83.31%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (6.87%) and Hispanic (5.13%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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