Ruth
Ruth was given to 1,781 girls in 2025, #173 among girls’ names; 838,901 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 215,000 Americans named Ruth and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (26% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 51 and 80.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ruth by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ruth mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ruth is “a female given name from Hebrew.” Its etymology gives the sense “companion” (meaning).
From Ruth the Moabite, Hebrew רות, of uncertain origin, possibly meaning “companion”. Also associated with the English noun ruth (“compassion”) by Puritans.
/ɹuːθ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ruth?
#173 among girls’ names, 2025
Ruth rose from #291 in 2015 to #173 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.62 to 1.1 per 1,000.
26,156 babies in 1920, the peak
Ruth peaked in 1920, when 26,156 babies were given it (26,102 girls, #5 among girls’ names). The 1,781 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,781 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 2024 | 1,787 | #172 | 1.1 |
| 2023 | 1,604 | #187 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | 1,668 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 1,579 | #187 | 1.0 |
| 2020 | 1,327 | #219 | 0.82 |
| 2019 | 1,351 | #231 | 0.80 |
| 2018 | 1,251 | #261 | 0.74 |
| 2017 | 1,213 | #264 | 0.70 |
| 2016 | 1,103 | #295 | 0.62 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,110 | #291 | 0.62 |
| 2014 | 1,064 | #307 | 0.60 |
| 2013 | 993 | #327 | 0.57 |
| 2012 | 931 | #340 | 0.53 |
| 2011 | 907 | #355 | 0.52 |
| 2010 | 934 | #345 | 0.53 |
| 2009 | 916 | #354 | 0.50 |
| 2008 | 929 | #356 | 0.49 |
| 2007 | 964 | #344 | 0.50 |
| 2006 | 892 | #363 | 0.47 |
| 2005 | 908 | #347 | 0.49 |
| 2004 | 915 | #350 | 0.50 |
| 2003 | 897 | #344 | 0.49 |
| 2002 | 906 | #334 | 0.50 |
| 2001 | 951 | #326 | 0.53 |
| 2000 | 909 | #339 | 0.50 |
| 1999 | 875 | #344 | 0.49 |
| 1998 | 853 | #342 | 0.48 |
| 1997 | 857 | #334 | 0.49 |
| 1996 | 802 | #346 | 0.46 |
| 1995 | 853 | #321 | 0.49 |
| 1994 | 882 | #309 | 0.49 |
| 1993 | 861 | #308 | 0.48 |
| 1992 | 855 | #319 | 0.46 |
| 1991 | 985 | #285 | 0.53 |
| 1990 | 907 | #305 | 0.48 |
| 1989 | 987 | #273 | 0.54 |
| 1988 | 997 | #256 | 0.56 |
| 1987 | 1,031 | #249 | 0.59 |
| 1986 | 1,084 | #238 | 0.63 |
| 1985 | 1,116 | #233 | 0.65 |
| 1984 | 1,165 | #223 | 0.69 |
| 1983 | 1,121 | #223 | 0.67 |
| 1982 | 1,178 | #222 | 0.70 |
| 1981 | 1,267 | #207 | 0.76 |
| 1980 | 1,258 | #207 | 0.76 |
| 1979 | 1,202 | #216 | 0.75 |
| 1978 | 1,208 | #212 | 0.79 |
| 1977 | 1,192 | #212 | 0.78 |
| 1976 | 1,198 | #205 | 0.82 |
| 1975 | 1,230 | #199 | 0.84 |
| 1974 | 1,299 | #195 | 0.89 |
| 1973 | 1,273 | #201 | 0.87 |
| 1972 | 1,383 | #201 | 0.91 |
| 1971 | 1,629 | #190 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,817 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1969 | 1,900 | #168 | 1.1 |
| 1968 | 2,151 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,420 | #145 | 1.5 |
| 1966 | 2,845 | #128 | 1.7 |
| 1965 | 3,231 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1964 | 3,640 | #114 | 1.9 |
| 1963 | 3,869 | #113 | 2.0 |
| 1962 | 4,294 | #104 | 2.2 |
| 1961 | 4,896 | #96 | 2.4 |
| 1960 | 4,943 | #97 | 2.4 |
| 1959 | 5,057 | #97 | 2.5 |
| 1958 | 5,247 | #90 | 2.6 |
| 1957 | 5,667 | #84 | 2.8 |
| 1956 | 6,075 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 1955 | 6,187 | #70 | 3.2 |
| 1954 | 6,566 | #66 | 3.4 |
| 1953 | 6,582 | #62 | 3.5 |
| 1952 | 6,953 | #57 | 3.7 |
| 1951 | 7,076 | #53 | 3.9 |
| 1950 | 7,128 | #49 | 4.2 |
| 1949 | 7,651 | #47 | 4.5 |
| 1948 | 7,903 | #45 | 4.7 |
| 1947 | 8,482 | #44 | 4.8 |
| 1946 | 8,474 | #38 | 5.4 |
| 1945 | 8,046 | #33 | 6.2 |
| 1944 | 8,674 | #32 | 6.5 |
| 1943 | 9,370 | #33 | 6.7 |
| 1942 | 9,315 | #33 | 6.9 |
| 1941 | 8,863 | #28 | 7.3 |
| 1940 | 8,888 | #24 | 7.8 |
| 1939 | 9,062 | #22 | 8.3 |
| 1938 | 9,303 | #21 | 8.4 |
| 1937 | 9,602 | #15 | 9.0 |
| 1936 | 9,217 | #16 | 8.9 |
| 1935 | 9,988 | #15 | 9.5 |
| 1934 | 10,565 | #13 | 10.1 |
| 1933 | 11,136 | #13 | 11.0 |
| 1932 | 12,257 | #11 | 11.5 |
| 1931 | 13,132 | #11 | 12.3 |
| 1930 | 14,942 | #10 | 13.3 |
| 1929 | 16,021 | #8 | 14.3 |
| 1928 | 17,859 | #6 | 15.5 |
| 1927 | 19,412 | #6 | 16.3 |
| 1926 | 20,225 | #6 | 17.1 |
| 1925 | 22,247 | #6 | 18.3 |
| 1924 | 23,601 | #6 | 18.9 |
| 1923 | 23,637 | #6 | 19.6 |
| 1922 | 23,633 | #5 | 19.7 |
| 1921 | 25,783 | #5 | 20.9 |
| 1920 | 26,102 | #5 | 21.8 |
| 1919 | 24,562 | #5 | 21.7 |
| 1918 | 25,535 | #5 | 22.1 |
| 1917 | 23,568 | #5 | 21.8 |
| 1916 | 23,189 | #5 | 22.2 |
| 1915 | 21,878 | #5 | 22.2 |
| 1914 | 15,839 | #5 | 20.8 |
| 1913 | 12,609 | #5 | 20.2 |
| 1912 | 11,280 | #5 | 20.2 |
| 1911 | 8,003 | #5 | 19.1 |
| 1910 | 7,212 | #5 | 18.2 |
| 1909 | 6,509 | #4 | 18.7 |
| 1908 | 6,180 | #4 | 18.5 |
| 1907 | 5,573 | #5 | 17.5 |
| 1906 | 5,140 | #5 | 17.4 |
| 1905 | 5,068 | #5 | 17.4 |
| 1904 | 4,900 | #5 | 17.8 |
| 1903 | 4,517 | #5 | 17.2 |
| 1902 | 4,384 | #5 | 16.6 |
| 1901 | 3,974 | #5 | 16.6 |
| 1900 | 4,765 | #5 | 15.9 |
| 1899 | 3,912 | #5 | 16.8 |
| 1898 | 4,249 | #5 | 16.4 |
| 1897 | 3,878 | #5 | 16.6 |
| 1896 | 3,905 | #5 | 16.4 |
| 1895 | 3,551 | #6 | 15.2 |
| 1894 | 3,372 | #6 | 15.1 |
| 1893 | 3,658 | #3 | 17.2 |
| 1892 | 3,290 | #5 | 15.5 |
| 1891 | 1,857 | #19 | 10.0 |
| 1890 | 1,195 | #46 | 6.3 |
| 1889 | 1,073 | #46 | 6.0 |
| 1888 | 850 | #59 | 4.8 |
| 1887 | 627 | #62 | 4.3 |
| 1886 | 581 | #66 | 4.0 |
| 1885 | 506 | #70 | 3.8 |
| 1884 | 442 | #74 | 3.4 |
| 1883 | 387 | #74 | 3.4 |
| 1882 | 323 | #80 | 3.0 |
| 1881 | 275 | #84 | 3.0 |
| 1880 | 234 | #93 | 2.6 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ruth a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ruth has been given almost only to girls: 2,779 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ruth: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ruth, and how old are they?
215,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 26% of the 838,901 Americans ever recorded as Ruth. The median Ruth alive today is 70 years old; half are between 51 and 80.
The 2020 Census counted 285,959 people named Ruth (285,536 women and girls, 423 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 263,289 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 51,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 88,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 25,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 15,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 14,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 17,700 |
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 Ruth born?
The states with the most babies named Ruth are Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 69,900 | #195 | 1.2× |
| New York | 67,616 | #186 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 51,526 | #160 | 1.4× |
| Illinois | 40,500 | #309 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 30,880 | #165 | 1.1× |
| California | 30,176 | #285 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 29,017 | #204 | 0.7× |
| Massachusetts | 25,965 | #204 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 23,706 | #283 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 22,498 | #145 | 0.9× |
Where Ruth is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ruth is most over-represented in Ohio: 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 girls’ 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 Ruth 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 Ruth
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 Ruth and names like it
- Compare Ruth and IreneBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sRuth peaked in 1920.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ruth since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Ruth: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Ruth.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ruth alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.