How common is the surname Russell?

221,558 people in the United States had the surname Russell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,394 Americans. It ranked 104th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Russell?

Kurt Russell, American actor (born 1951), followed by Bill Russell.

Where is the surname Russell most common?

Wikidata records people named Russell in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Russell?

Russell is /ˈɹʌsəl/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Russell getting more or less common?

More common. 215,432 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 221,558 in 2010, up 2.8%.

Is Russell also a first name?

Yes. Russell is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Russell

A Norman nickname surname, carried by 221,558 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈɹʌsəl/ 2 syllables Soundex R240 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Russell is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Norman origin

Inherited from Middle English Russel, from Anglo-Norman Russel. Doublet of Rousseau/Roussel. Equivalent to russel.

Russell is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

One of 128 Norman surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 221,558 people named Russell in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,394 Americans. That is up 2.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 215,432.

#104

rank among US surnames

221,558

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.8%

change since 2000 (was #93)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#95	Patel	229,973	1,343
#96	Myers	229,895	1,343
#97	Long	229,374	1,346
#98	Ross	229,368	1,346
#99	Foster	227,764	1,356
#100	Jimenez	227,118	1,359
#101	Powell	224,874	1,373

Who is named Russell

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

77% of people named Russell identified as white (not Hispanic), 17% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 77%
Black (not Hispanic) 17%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Russells

108 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Kurt Russell
American actor (born 1951)
Bill Russell
American basketball player (1934–2022)
Jane Russell
American actress (1921–2011)
Rosalind Russell
American actress (1907–1976)
Henry Norris Russell
American astronomer (1877–1957)
David O. Russell
American film director, screenwriter and producer, born 1958
Keri Russell
American actress, born 1976
Theresa Russell
American actress, born 1957
Wyatt Russell
American actor, born 1986
D'Angelo Russell
American basketball player (born 1996)
Leon Russell
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and session musician, 1942–2016
Masai Russell
American sprinter and hurdler (born 2000)

Notable Russells come mostly from the United States (89), the United Kingdom (6) and Australia (4).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Roussel
Rowsell
Russel

Surnames that sound like Russell

Russell has the Soundex code R240, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R240.

Other Norman surnames

All 128 Norman surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Russell come from?: Inherited from Middle English Russel, from Anglo-Norman Russel. Doublet of Rousseau/Roussel. Equivalent to russel.
How common is the surname Russell?: 221,558 people in the United States had the surname Russell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,394 Americans. It ranked 104th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Russell?: In the 2010 Census, 77% of people named Russell identified as white (not Hispanic), and 17% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Russell?: Kurt Russell, American actor (born 1951), followed by Bill Russell.
Where is the surname Russell most common?: Wikidata records people named Russell in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Russell?: Russell is /ˈɹʌsəl/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Russell?: Russell is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Russell getting more or less common?: More common. 215,432 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 221,558 in 2010, up 2.8%.
What are other spellings of Russell?: Roussel, Rowsell and Russel.
Is Russell also a first name?: Yes. Russell is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.