Russ
Russ was given to 20 boys in 2025, #5,007 among boys’ names; 6,131 Americans have been recorded with it since 1898 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,460 Americans named Russ and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (73% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 53 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Russ by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Russ mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Russ is “a diminutive of the male given name Russell.”
Diminutive of Russell.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Russ?
#5,007 among boys’ names, 2025
Russ rose from #9,404 in 2015 to #5,007 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 4.2 to 11.7 per million.
350 babies in 1959, the peak
Russ peaked in 1959, when 350 boys were given it, #427 among boys’ names. The 20 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | #5,007 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 14 | #6,408 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 21 | #4,852 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 21 | #4,815 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 18 | #5,288 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 17 | #5,411 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 11 | #7,536 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 13 | #6,632 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 7 | #10,553 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 8 | #9,502 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (114)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8 | #9,404 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 5 | #13,671 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 6 | #11,870 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 12 | #6,948 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 12 | #6,917 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 7 | #10,534 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #14,087 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 12 | #6,997 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 5 | #13,620 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 9 | #8,162 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #9,736 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 7 | #9,409 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 7 | #9,187 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 9 | #7,397 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 9 | #7,279 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 12 | #5,584 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 9 | #6,729 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 13 | #4,897 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 16 | #4,150 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 15 | #4,227 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 14 | #4,484 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 18 | #3,619 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 20 | #3,309 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 30 | #2,383 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 24 | #2,754 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 21 | #2,972 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 33 | #1,980 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 34 | #1,887 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 45 | #1,506 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 34 | #1,784 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 31 | #1,833 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 45 | #1,421 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 45 | #1,436 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 57 | #1,223 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 60 | #1,184 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 50 | #1,315 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 48 | #1,322 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 49 | #1,287 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 49 | #1,260 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 52 | #1,177 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 56 | #1,107 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 66 | #1,001 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 73 | #949 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 103 | #795 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 127 | #731 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 114 | #734 | 0.06 |
| 1968 | 124 | #678 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 123 | #673 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 135 | #639 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 180 | #571 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 264 | #486 | 0.13 |
| 1963 | 291 | #461 | 0.14 |
| 1962 | 304 | #459 | 0.15 |
| 1961 | 341 | #431 | 0.16 |
| 1960 | 341 | #435 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 350 | #427 | 0.16 |
| 1958 | 298 | #456 | 0.14 |
| 1957 | 221 | #516 | 0.10 |
| 1956 | 168 | #587 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 96 | #750 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 82 | #798 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 57 | #955 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 50 | #1,022 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 40 | #1,148 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 53 | #953 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 64 | #862 | 0.04 |
| 1948 | 70 | #818 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 101 | #691 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 97 | #657 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 73 | #716 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 49 | #916 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 58 | #883 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 43 | #1,033 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 34 | #1,147 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 35 | #1,127 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 25 | #1,353 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 22 | #1,469 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 27 | #1,309 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 23 | #1,412 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 11 | #2,374 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,600 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 9 | #2,699 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 13 | #2,175 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 14 | #2,088 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 9 | #2,976 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 11 | #2,567 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 11 | #2,623 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,105 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 12 | #2,541 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,109 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 11 | #2,795 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 11 | #2,745 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 11 | #2,773 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 13 | #2,481 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 8 | #3,444 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 10 | #2,835 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 11 | #2,674 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,700 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 14 | #2,130 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 7 | #3,346 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 7 | #2,861 | 0.01 |
| 1913 | 7 | #2,462 | 0.01 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,189 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 6 | #1,099 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Russ a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Russ has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 114 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Russ: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Russ, and how old are they?
4,460 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 73% of the 6,131 Americans ever recorded as Russ. The median Russ alive today is 63 years old; half are between 53 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 9,491 people named Russ (48 women and girls, 9,443 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,751 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.0 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Russ rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 136 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,350 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,220 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 456 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 133 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 168 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Russ born?
The states with the most babies named Russ are California, New York and Michigan, with 40% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 697 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New York | 306 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 228 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 207 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Texas | 207 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 206 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Washington | 144 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Wisconsin | 114 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 102 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Missouri | 96 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Russ is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Russ is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Russ with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Russ
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Russ and names like it
- Compare Russ and TimmieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sRuss peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Russ since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Russ.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Russ alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.