Skip to content
BabyNames
Girl name#27 of girl names

Ruth

Pronounced R UW1 TH (ARPABET)

  • 1 syllable
  • Peaked 1920
  • 145 years in use
  • Biblical
Compare

How popular is Ruth?

Ruth is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 837,356 children — the 27th most common girls' name on record.

It peaked in 1920, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1920, when 26,102 children were given it.

012,50025,00037,50050,00018901920195019802010
1920Girls: 26,102Boys: 54

Characteristics

  • Biblical (Person)
  • 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
R UW1 TH
Stress pattern:
1
Syllables:
1

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Ruth

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Ruth

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Ruth?
Ruth ranks 27th among girls' names in US records, with 837,356 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 13,985.
Is Ruth a unisex name?
No. Ruth is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Ruth most popular?
1920, when 26,102 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.