Russ
A surname with two main roots: in England it is usually a form of Rous/Ross, while elsewhere it can also be a nickname for a Russian.
The #2,237 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,941 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The English surname Russ is generally treated as a shortened or variant form of Rous, itself from Old French rous, meaning “red” or “reddish,” often used as a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Some nineteenth-century sources also connect it with the same root seen in Russell. In German and Dutch usage, Russ/Russe can also be a regional or ethnic surname meaning “Russian.”
History
English records show medieval forms such as John le Rus and Gilbert Russ, which support its early use as a nickname-based surname. Later surname dictionaries note Russ as a variant found alongside Rush and Rouse, especially in English records. In continental Europe, similar spellings may reflect an ethnic label rather than the English “red-haired” origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some old English surname indexes grouped Russ, Rush, and Russe together under the same family of forms.
From the historical record
“2 — Rusk (q.v.) 4- the Fr. dim. suff. -in. RUSLING for Ro8lin(g, q.v. RUSS = Rous, q.v. John le Rus.—Hund. Rolls. Gilbert Kuss.—Hund. Rolls. RUSSEL l ( A.-Fr.-Lat. ) the Red, Red- RUSSELL ^ Haired [A.-Fr. russelQ, O.Fr. RUSSILL J roussel ■ v. under Russ, Rous,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)