The name "Russ" in the US... I heard there are only 2 or 3 base famlies... Am I related to this guy?

Question

Hi!

I have a cousin with the name of Russ and his parents came over from Germany at the turn of the century.

My whole family started in the Illinois area and then spread out from there...

My best friend married a guy with the last name of "Russ" and his father's side of the family was from Illinois too...

My cousin is very old and doesn't remember and my friend's husband doesn't speak to or of his father's side of the family but my Grandmother told me that there were only 2 or 3 "Russ" families in Germany and that only a few of them came to the US.

Is any of this true?

How likely do you think it might be that I am related to my best friend's husband?

Answer 1

This is the meaning and origins:

English: variant spelling of Rouse.

German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with hrod ‘renown’.

German (of Slavic origin): from Old Slavic rusu ‘reddish’, ‘blond’, hence a nickname or an ethnic name meaning ‘Russian’.

Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived by a scree, Middle High German ru(o)zze.

In some instances the name referred to personal or business connections with Russia, the country of the Reussen, from Middle High German Riusse

There are over 5000 with the surname Russ in the 1900 census.

Answer 2

As likely as an earthquake happening in California!

Do your research on the internet and try to find someone in Germany who can help you locate the manifests of the ships that brought the "RUSS" people over. Then follow where those people settled.

My friend took 6 years to prove she was a Russian Jew and here family was exterminated by the Lenin revolt. Following your roots is NOT easy nor QUICK but a rewarding feeling when you finally accomplish it.

Answer 3

YOUR cousin, whose last name is Russ, gets this name through his father's family.  He may be your cousin, but how? Do you share grandparents named Russ? or do you share ancestry through his mother (who is only a Russ via marriage)??

The critical point which is not clear from your question, is if you have a Russ ancestor or not.  An ancestor is person like a parent/ grandparent/ gr grandparent that you "come" directly from.  Your cousin is a RELATIVE, but not an ancestor.

Once you know your ancestry, if it DOES include a Russ (which can include grandmother's maiden name) .. then you can compare your friends ancestry.  Even if he does not speak with his father's family.. if he knows who his grandfather (gr grandfather) was.. then he can use records such as the census to trace his family back. IF you find that you both have the same ancestors.. then you would be related.  

I would not accept as fact what grandma says about limited Russ families.  If both your friend's husband and your Russ ancestors wind up being from the same area in Illinois.. then that ups the odds.  Where the name actually originated is not going to affect that very much at all.

edit-

I have to directly disagree with someone saying to find ships lists from Germany.. then try to find where they went. It is far easier to start with the PRESENT .. your parents, then grandparents, gr grandparents and work to the past. Same for friends' hubby.  What is being suggested is from the past, and trying to run down to the present, which has no way to confirm any link to you or anyone.

Answer 4

I found this for you.

Surname: Russ

Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is an English surname but probably of pre 10th century French origins. It is claimed to be a nickname for a person with red hair, and derives from the word 'rous' translating as red, but the precise meaning is open to some conjecture. Our opinion is that in many cases it would be a term perhaps of derision, by a Norman invader, for an Anglo-Saxon, since these people had red hair. What is certain is that the name had considerable popularity, and today as a surname is recorded as Rouse, Rous, Roux, Russ, Russe, Ruse, and possibly other spellings, in addition to the diminutives Ruskin, Roukin, Russell, Rousell, etc. Early examples of the name recordings include John Russe who was recorded in the 'Book of Fees for Wiltshire' in the year 1218, whilst in 1285, Margareta le Ruse appears in the Feudal Rolls of Staffordshire. Later examples are those of Edward Russ who married Elizabeth Willoughby at St. Benets church, Pauls Wharf, London, on November 24th 1724, whilst in 1834, Benjamin Ruse married Eliza King at All Souls Church, St. Mary le Bone, London. The name was early into the new American Colonies, Roger Ruese being recorded as 'living in James Cittie, Virginea' on February 18th 1623. The coat of arms has the blazon of a blue field, a gold saltire between four cross crosslets fitchee in silver, and is very much the coat of arms of a member of the church. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Wilkin Rous, which was dated 1225, a witness at the Assize Court of Lancashire, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as 'The Frenchman', 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Well......

Don't want to rock the boat with your Grandmother but...

An example is my husband's surname.  Many researchers have tangled many of this surname only because many lived in the same northern areas before migrating out to other states.  Because of the new DNA testing we have found 3 or more different, unrelated branches living in the same areas and sometimes even intermarrying.

Stories of 2 brothers or 3 brothers or 7 brothers coming over from one place is in each of our families, if they came during colonization.  I would respectfully say that she can't know that there were only 2 or 3 Russ families in Germany as the records aren't as intense are they are in the US.

With that said, the more I research, the more I think I'm related to everyone in one manner or another.