# Ruth (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ruth/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “companion”, “compassion” |
| Pronunciation | /ɹuːθ/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Ruthie, Ruthy |
| Variant spellings | Routh |
| US babies named this | 838,901 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,779 / 836,122 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 4,191, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Ruth the Moabite, Hebrew רות, of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "companion". Also associated with the English noun ruth (“compassion”) by Puritans.

## What it means

Ruth is grouped under friend.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 907 | 355 |
| 2012 | 931 | 340 |
| 2013 | 993 | 327 |
| 2014 | 1,064 | 307 |
| 2015 | 1,110 | 291 |
| 2016 | 1,103 | 295 |
| 2017 | 1,213 | 264 |
| 2018 | 1,251 | 261 |
| 2019 | 1,351 | 231 |
| 2020 | 1,327 | 219 |
| 2021 | 1,579 | 187 |
| 2022 | 1,668 | 179 |
| 2023 | 1,604 | 187 |
| 2024 | 1,787 | 172 |
| 2025 | 1,781 | 173 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8 | 4,860 |
| 1981 | 6 | 6,104 |
| 1982 | 15 | 3,078 |
| 1983 | 11 | 3,828 |
| 1984 | 11 | 3,889 |
| 1985 | 9 | 4,626 |
| 1986 | 13 | 3,615 |
| 1987 | 9 | 4,887 |
| 1988 | 14 | 3,673 |
| 1989 | 12 | 4,480 |
| 1990 | 8 | 6,305 |
| 1991 | 5 | 9,346 |
| 1993 | 5 | 9,896 |
| 1995 | 6 | 8,676 |
| 2008 | 5 | 14,211 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 106 | 414 |
| 2012 | 100 | 451 |
| 2013 | 107 | 397 |
| 2014 | 97 | 448 |
| 2015 | 95 | 455 |
| 2016 | 95 | 458 |
| 2017 | 114 | 391 |
| 2018 | 94 | 458 |
| 2019 | 69 | 582 |
| 2020 | 67 | 582 |
| 2021 | 69 | 567 |
| 2022 | 72 | 541 |
| 2023 | 71 | 545 |
| 2024 | 79 | 497 |
| 2025 | 73 | 542 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: رُوث, رَاعُوث, رُوت, سِفْر رَاعُوث
- Armenian: Հռութ
- Catalan: Rut
- Chinese: 露絲 /露丝, 路得記 /路得记, 盧德傳 /卢德传
- Czech: Rút
- Danish: Ruth
- Dutch: Ruth
- Estonian: Rutt
- Finnish: Ruut
- French: Ruth, livre de Ruth
- Georgian: რუთა
- German: Ruth, Buch Rut
- Greek: Ρουθ
- Hebrew: רוּת, רוּת
- Hindi: रूत
- Hungarian: Ruth
- Icelandic: Ruth
- Irish: Rút, Leabhar Rút
- Italian: Rut
- Japanese: ルース, ルツ, ルツ記

## People named Ruth

- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and jurist (1933–2020)
- Ruth Benedict, American anthropologist and folklorologist (1887-1948)
- Ruth Gordon, American actress and writer (1896–1985)
- Ruth Handler, American businesswoman
- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-born British-American author (1927-2013)
- Ruth Rendell, British writer (1930-2015)
- Ruth Negga, Ethiopian-Irish actress
- Ruth Westheimer, German-American sex therapist
- Ruth Buzzi, American actress, comedian, and singer
- Ruth Wilson, British actress
- Ruth Chatterton, American actress (1892–1961)
- Ruth Brown, American singer-songwriter (1928-2006)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.