A French and English surname, Rue comes from the Normandy region of France. It comes from the Old French term of ‘ruelle’ which means an alley or lane and referred to a person who lived near a lane. Also from the Old French was the term ‘ruge’ which meant the red color. The spelling variations for Rue include Ruell, Rew, Ruegg, Rough, de Ruel, Rueil, Rueill, Roulier, Rueless, Desruelles and du Ruel. Within France the Rue name was found in Normandy, Brittany, Flanders and Picardy regions. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many from France resettled in Canada and others in the Louisiana area. In England settled mostly in the central and western regions and into Wales. The greater populations lived in Leicestershire, Channel Islands and the city of London. Within the United States the Rue families primarily lived in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Michigan, Washington, California, Texas, and Oregon. Famous: Nancy Rue ( a children’s book author), Sara Rue (movie and television actress) and Betsy Rue (actress).