Ruch
Likely a nickname surname from a word for a rook, or possibly from an old German word meaning rough.
The #8,891 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,853 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical clue links Ruch to German dialect word forms for "rook" (the bird), especially southern German ruch, used in older surname explanations as a nickname base. Another old German line of explanation connects it with ruh / ruch meaning "rough" or "hairy," though the excerpts do not firmly show which sense applies here. Because the evidence is brief and partly indirect, the surname is best treated as a nickname or descriptive name with a Germanic origin.
History
The name appears in older surname discussions mainly as a German family name form, with variants and related names recorded in continental European onomastic works. In English-speaking countries it is comparatively uncommon, but modern bearers may reflect later immigration from German-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers sometimes glossed ruch as a dialect word for a rook, which would make Ruch a bird-based nickname much like other European surnames from animal names.
From the historical record
“Ranehftaß IH. „rauher Fuß", vom ahd. ruh, mhd. ruch rauh, rauch, haarige Ranehhanpt III. „rauhes Haupt" s. das vor- hergehende. Rauehkopf; halbniederd. Ru- köpf.”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen