Russell
Russell was given to 944 boys in 2025, #345 among boys’ names; 361,476 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 203,000 Americans named Russell and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (56% of everyone recorded); the median is 59 years old and half are between 44 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Russell by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Russell mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Russell is “a male given name transferred from the surname; diminutive form Russ.”
Inherited from Middle English Russel, from Anglo-Norman Russel. Doublet of Rousseau/Roussel. Equivalent to russel.
/ˈɹʌsəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Russell?
#345 among boys’ names, 2025
Russell rose from #403 in 2015 to #345 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.40 to 0.55 per 1,000.
7,510 babies in 1960, the peak
Russell peaked in 1960, when 7,510 babies were given it (7,487 boys, #56 among boys’ names). The 944 births of 2025 are 13% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 944 | #345 | 0.55 |
| 2024 | 897 | #367 | 0.52 |
| 2023 | 815 | #393 | 0.48 |
| 2022 | 868 | #373 | 0.50 |
| 2021 | 919 | #355 | 0.53 |
| 2020 | 842 | #370 | 0.49 |
| 2019 | 804 | #391 | 0.45 |
| 2018 | 769 | #413 | 0.42 |
| 2017 | 790 | #404 | 0.43 |
| 2016 | 785 | #407 | 0.41 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 769 | #403 | 0.40 |
| 2014 | 757 | #410 | 0.39 |
| 2013 | 672 | #433 | 0.36 |
| 2012 | 657 | #426 | 0.35 |
| 2011 | 707 | #402 | 0.37 |
| 2010 | 699 | #405 | 0.36 |
| 2009 | 646 | #434 | 0.33 |
| 2008 | 726 | #407 | 0.36 |
| 2007 | 712 | #411 | 0.34 |
| 2006 | 741 | #403 | 0.36 |
| 2005 | 731 | #393 | 0.37 |
| 2004 | 768 | #363 | 0.39 |
| 2003 | 811 | #343 | 0.41 |
| 2002 | 838 | #327 | 0.43 |
| 2001 | 925 | #307 | 0.48 |
| 2000 | 894 | #320 | 0.46 |
| 1999 | 855 | #326 | 0.45 |
| 1998 | 952 | #297 | 0.50 |
| 1997 | 1,100 | #256 | 0.58 |
| 1996 | 1,086 | #260 | 0.57 |
| 1995 | 1,205 | #240 | 0.63 |
| 1994 | 1,269 | #235 | 0.66 |
| 1993 | 1,517 | #201 | 0.77 |
| 1992 | 1,711 | #185 | 0.86 |
| 1991 | 1,833 | #174 | 0.91 |
| 1990 | 2,212 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1989 | 2,218 | #136 | 1.1 |
| 1988 | 2,298 | #128 | 1.2 |
| 1987 | 2,379 | #119 | 1.3 |
| 1986 | 2,407 | #116 | 1.3 |
| 1985 | 2,571 | #110 | 1.4 |
| 1984 | 2,685 | #106 | 1.5 |
| 1983 | 2,744 | #104 | 1.5 |
| 1982 | 3,032 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1981 | 3,048 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1980 | 3,269 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1979 | 3,132 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1978 | 2,984 | #93 | 1.8 |
| 1977 | 3,124 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1976 | 2,999 | #87 | 1.9 |
| 1975 | 3,232 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1974 | 3,168 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1973 | 3,397 | #77 | 2.2 |
| 1972 | 3,782 | #69 | 2.3 |
| 1971 | 4,545 | #64 | 2.6 |
| 1970 | 5,106 | #58 | 2.7 |
| 1969 | 5,156 | #57 | 2.9 |
| 1968 | 5,097 | #56 | 2.9 |
| 1967 | 4,889 | #58 | 2.8 |
| 1966 | 4,857 | #61 | 2.7 |
| 1965 | 5,645 | #58 | 3.0 |
| 1964 | 6,238 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1963 | 6,703 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1962 | 7,042 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1961 | 7,333 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1960 | 7,487 | #56 | 3.5 |
| 1959 | 7,480 | #56 | 3.5 |
| 1958 | 7,158 | #54 | 3.4 |
| 1957 | 7,223 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1956 | 7,402 | #52 | 3.5 |
| 1955 | 6,539 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1954 | 5,761 | #69 | 2.8 |
| 1953 | 5,374 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1952 | 5,349 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 1951 | 5,175 | #73 | 2.7 |
| 1950 | 4,945 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1949 | 5,007 | #69 | 2.8 |
| 1948 | 5,109 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 1947 | 5,270 | #69 | 2.9 |
| 1946 | 4,741 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1945 | 3,806 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1944 | 3,931 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1943 | 3,752 | #73 | 2.6 |
| 1942 | 3,676 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1941 | 3,032 | #75 | 2.5 |
| 1940 | 3,012 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1939 | 2,833 | #73 | 2.6 |
| 1938 | 2,950 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1937 | 2,895 | #67 | 2.7 |
| 1936 | 2,832 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1935 | 2,833 | #68 | 2.7 |
| 1934 | 2,736 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1933 | 2,697 | #67 | 2.7 |
| 1932 | 3,021 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1931 | 2,942 | #63 | 2.8 |
| 1930 | 3,101 | #60 | 2.8 |
| 1929 | 3,183 | #56 | 3.0 |
| 1928 | 3,325 | #55 | 3.0 |
| 1927 | 3,540 | #54 | 3.1 |
| 1926 | 3,793 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1925 | 3,804 | #53 | 3.4 |
| 1924 | 3,946 | #52 | 3.5 |
| 1923 | 3,805 | #52 | 3.5 |
| 1922 | 3,965 | #49 | 3.6 |
| 1921 | 3,946 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1920 | 3,901 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1919 | 3,645 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1918 | 3,833 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1917 | 3,436 | #52 | 3.7 |
| 1916 | 3,330 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1915 | 3,250 | #51 | 3.8 |
| 1914 | 2,568 | #49 | 3.9 |
| 1913 | 1,946 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1912 | 1,449 | #56 | 3.4 |
| 1911 | 770 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1910 | 615 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1909 | 528 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1908 | 523 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1907 | 503 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1906 | 459 | #53 | 3.4 |
| 1905 | 432 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1904 | 473 | #48 | 3.7 |
| 1903 | 390 | #56 | 3.3 |
| 1902 | 422 | #53 | 3.4 |
| 1901 | 395 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1900 | 427 | #62 | 2.8 |
| 1899 | 338 | #56 | 3.2 |
| 1898 | 359 | #61 | 2.9 |
| 1897 | 295 | #64 | 2.6 |
| 1896 | 327 | #64 | 2.7 |
| 1895 | 300 | #66 | 2.6 |
| 1894 | 278 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1893 | 246 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1892 | 269 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1891 | 186 | #87 | 1.8 |
| 1890 | 182 | #95 | 1.6 |
| 1889 | 198 | #89 | 1.8 |
| 1888 | 146 | #115 | 1.2 |
| 1887 | 96 | #133 | 0.95 |
| 1886 | 115 | #122 | 1.0 |
| 1885 | 94 | #145 | 0.87 |
| 1884 | 107 | #135 | 0.93 |
| 1883 | 67 | #180 | 0.64 |
| 1882 | 73 | #185 | 0.64 |
| 1881 | 65 | #181 | 0.65 |
| 1880 | 62 | #197 | 0.56 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Russell a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Russell has been given almost only to boys: 1,696 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Russell: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Russell, and how old are they?
203,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 56% of the 361,476 Americans ever recorded as Russell. The median Russell alive today is 59 years old; half are between 44 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 202,735 people named Russell (393 women and girls, 202,342 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 221,053 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 11,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 79,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 56,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 32,600 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 12,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 10,600 |
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 Russell born?
The states with the most babies named Russell are California, Pennsylvania and New York, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 25,083 | #388 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 22,813 | #339 | 1.0× |
| New York | 22,196 | #461 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 20,019 | #250 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 19,356 | #373 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 17,897 | #647 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 16,261 | #419 | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 11,190 | #356 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 10,313 | #354 | 1.0× |
| Missouri | 10,037 | #270 | 1.1× |
Where Russell is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Russell is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 Russell with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 378,159 babies since 1880, Russell is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 944 of their 971 babies (97%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Russell
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 Russell and names like it
- Compare Russell and RusselBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sRussell peaked in 1960.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Russell since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Russell: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Russell.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Russell alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.