Ruth
Meaning
companion, friend
Goes by Ruthie
Famously borne by Ruth Asawa, the San Francisco sculptor of looped-wire forms and cast public fountains.
The story
Ruth is one of the Bible's great portraits of loyalty: the Moabite widow who followed her mother-in-law Naomi into a strange land, and whose Hebrew name is traditionally read as companion or friend. American parents once agreed on it almost universally. At the turn of the twentieth century Ruth stood near the very top of the girls' lists, one of the defining names of that generation, before beginning a long, patient descent through the postwar years to a much quieter register by the 1970s and 1980s. Lately the line has bent upward again, part of the broader return of short, serious heritage names, and the admiration surrounding Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her final years cannot have hurt; the timing lines up, though the shift is bigger than any one figure. Plain, brave, and only four letters long, Ruth never needed decoration to be memorable.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ruth peaked in the 1900s.
Popularity in Brazil
47,773 people · the #584 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 4,255 · median age 46
Among people named Ruth living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 1,520 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Ruth
People given the name Ruth in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Ruth deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ruth truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ruth fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Ruth travels
Jewish American · friend, companion; a beloved classic honoring the biblical Book of Ruth
Korean American · companion, friend (the loyal heart of the Book of Ruth; a beloved church name among Korean American women)
Amharic and Ethiopian · biblical name, common in Ethiopian Orthodox tradition
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Ruth · Jewish American baby names · Amharic and Ethiopian baby names · Korean American baby names · Short names
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