Top 70 US name Girls' name Peak 1924 372,975 births

Ruby — #63 US girls' name

372,975 babies named Ruby in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1924. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s26031890s86991900s181751910s603081920s767371930s476471940s318731950s205491960s101651970s64331980s63121990s105562000s220302010s334612020s17427
#63
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99.6% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

21% of everyone ever named Ruby was born in this single decade.

1924
Single peak year

8,406 babies were named Ruby in 1924 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Ruby

The Social Security Administration has registered 372,975 babies named Ruby between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Ruby currently holds the #63 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1924, when 8,406 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Ruby performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 76,737 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Ruby shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 36,191 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and North Carolina. In total, SSA state-level files list Ruby in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Ruby in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 372,975 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Ruby at a glance

Top 100 girls' name

Total births

372,975

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1924

8,406 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#63

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Ruby popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 girls' name
Peak year (1924)
8,406
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,0008,00010,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 92

Ruby popularity over time — boys

3,099 total births recorded since 1880 (Ruby as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 3,099 births
020406080100 202420031985196819511934191719001880 6

Ruby by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
76,737 births that decade — 21% of Ruby's all-time total
1880s26031890s86991900s181751910s603081920s767371930s476471940s318731950s205491960s101651970s64331980s63121990s105562000s220302010s334612020s17427

Ruby by state

Where Ruby concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Ruby
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
36,191 9.7%
#2 California
24,111 6.5%
#3 North Carolina
20,406 5.5%
#4 Georgia
20,282 5.4%
#5 Alabama
16,647 4.5%
#6 Tennessee
16,426 4.4%
#7 Kentucky
14,489 3.9%
#8 Mississippi
13,925 3.7%
Texas share of Ruby's total US births 9.7%
Even split

36,191 of 372,975 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Ruby appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Ruby?
372,975 babies have been named Ruby since 1880. It currently ranks #63 among girls. The peak year was 1924 with 8,406 births.
When was Ruby most popular?
Ruby was most popular in the 1920s decade with 76,737 total births. The single peak year was 1924.
Where is Ruby most popular?
The top states for the name Ruby are Texas (36,191 births), California (24,111 births), North Carolina (20,406 births).
How long has the name Ruby been used?
Ruby has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Ruby?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Rubi, Rubye, Rubie, Rubbie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.