Boys' name · since 1882

Ruel

Ruel has 1,921 recorded births since 1882 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1915 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#3,392 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#6,151 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
1,921
born since 1882
1920s
peak decade

1,921 babies have been named Ruel since 1882, making it today's #6151 boys' name.

Ruel has 1,921 recorded births among boys since 1882, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #6151 as of the latest data, more common than 56% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.

  • #3,392 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #6,151 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 1,921 born since 1882
  • 1920s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ruel ranks #3,392 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,151 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 1,921 born since 1882, peaking in the 1920s.

#3,392 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#6,151 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
1,921
born since 1882
1920s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%55.8%
Ruel vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Ruel's 1,921 recorded births place it above 92.54% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

8 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

8 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.

How Ruel compares

1,921 Top 23% higher than 77% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Ruel's all-time total is 5x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Ruel Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 1,921 369 358,536
Peak-year births 49 34 22,252

Ruel's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Ruel's full recorded timeline at 1957, 32% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 68% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1882, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1915 peak of 49 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Ruel popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1915)
49
Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
0102030405060 188219091925194119571973198920092025 14

Ruel popularity over time - girls

5 total births recorded since 1913 (Ruel as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 5 births
5 1913 5

Ruel by decade

1920s is the heaviest window (372 births, 19% of the file).

1920s was Ruel's strongest decade.

372 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.

Ruel births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1920s at 372 births (19% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Ruel compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Ruel's total volume

Ruel vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -44, 11%-36, 5.5%-120, 4.5%-111, 3%-122, 1.9%-146, 2.3%-113, 2.7%-110, 3%-46, 5.2%-93, 4.2%-62, 3%-51, 7%-19, 11.5%-35, 9.7%-46, 8.5%Ruel-144, 2.6%Ruel
Ruel vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Ruel by state

Where Ruel concentrates geographically, total births since 1882

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Ruel
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
47 2.4%
#2 Kentucky
44 2.3%
#3 Oklahoma
17 0.9%
#4 Arkansas
16 0.8%
#5 Georgia
12 0.6%
#6 Alabama
11 0.6%
#7 Louisiana
5 0.3%
#8 North Carolina
5 0.3%
Texas share of Ruel's total US births 2.4%
Even split

47 of 1,921 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 8 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Ruel? ▼
1,921 babies have been named Ruel since 1882. All-time, it sits at #3,392 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #6,151 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1915 with 49 births.
Where does Ruel sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ruel ranks #3,392 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,151 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Ruel most popular? ▼
Ruel was most popular in the 1920s decade with 372 total births. The single peak year was 1915.
Where is Ruel most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Ruel are Texas (47 births), Kentucky (44 births), Oklahoma (17 births).
How long has the name Ruel been used? ▼
Records for Ruel go back to 1882, giving 144 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Ruel? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Rueben, Rue, Rueger, Ruey, and 1 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Ruel's data

  • Ruel's decade-level peak was the 1920s (372 total births); usage has since declined to 57 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • Texas records the most Ruels (47 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Ruel

Nearby Names Like Ruel

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Ruel

Rueben Boy
#3854 4,871 births
Rue Boy
#7708 319 births
Rueger Boy
56 births
Ruey Boy
10 births
Ruebin Boy
6 births

Compare Ruel side by side: Ruel vs Rueben Ruel vs Rue Ruel vs Rueger

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Ruel

Esequiel #6150
2,944 births · Peak 1974
Cris #6152
3,033 births · Peak 1960
Elihu #6149
1,236 births · Peak 1928
Lovell #6153
3,412 births · Peak 1916
Albin #6148
4,431 births · Peak 1919
Arnie #6154
2,088 births · Peak 1960
Parley #6147
687 births · Peak 1918
Elija #6155
1,169 births · Peak 2008

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Ruel: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1882–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Ruel draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.