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Rutter Family History

Rutter Surname Meaning

English: occupational name from Old French roteor, roteeur, routeeur ‘player on the rote’ a musical instrument, a kind of harp or fiddle. The regular modern development of the name would have been to Roter (rhyming with boater) and to Router or Rowter (rhyming with doubter). These variants survive in small numbers but the principal modern form is Rutter, found in fairly large numbers across England, especially in the northeast and in the West Midlands.

The shortened vowel in Rutter may have been influenced by rotte, rutte, Middle English variants of Old French rote. Compare Root.

English: nickname from Middle English roter, rotour ‘robber, plunderer’, also ‘scoundrel, lecher’, a borrowing of Old French rotier, Anglo-Norman French routier ‘soldier of fortune; robber, highwayman, ruffian’, though this is a less likely source of the modern surname.

Dutch: nickname from Middle Dutch rut(t)er ‘freebooter, footpad’, cognate with 2 above.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Rutter family from?

You can see how Rutter families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Rutter family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Rutter families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 719 Rutter families living in Durham. This was about 16% of all the recorded Rutter's in United Kingdom. Durham had the highest population of Rutter families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Rutter surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Rutter ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Rutter. 8% of Rutter men worked as a General Labourer and 69% of Rutter women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Rutter were Incapacitated and Incapacitated.

View Census Data for Rutter | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    8%
  • Dairy Farmer
    4%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    69%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Domestic Duties
    2%
  • Incapacitated
    2%

What Rutter family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 115,000 census records available for the last name Rutter. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Rutter census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Rutter

Passenger Lists

There are 24,000 immigration records available for the last name Rutter. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Rutter immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 12,000 military records available for the last name Rutter. For the veterans among your Rutter ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Rutter military records

You've only scratched the surface of Rutter family history

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What is the average Rutter lifespan?

Between 1946 and 2004, in the United States, Rutter life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1951, and highest in 1997. The average life expectancy for Rutter in 1946 was 50, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Rutter

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Rutter ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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