Ruan is a distinctive choice, ranked #1153 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Ruan in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1153
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About the Name Ruan
Ruan has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 123 places in five years. It was most popular in 2011 at #1087 โ parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1997.
Ruan is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Ruan in their class.
โญ Famous People Named Ruan
Ruan Smith โ Ruan-Henry Smith is a South African professional rugby union player currently signed to the New South Wales Waratahs of Super Rugby in Australia for Super Rugby Pacific.
Ruan Sims โ Ruan Sims is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer.
Ruan Roelofse โ Ruan Roelofse is a professional South African tennis player.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Ruan
Unlikely. With around 25 UK babies named Ruan per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Ruan in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Ruan is rising: up 482 places since 2020, to #1,153 in 2025. Its best recorded position was #1,087 in 2011.
Ruan is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Ruan include: Ruan Smith, Ruan Sims and Ruan Roelofse. Short summaries for each appear below.
Ruan does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice โ your child is unlikely to encounter American Ruans in the wild.
25
UK babies named Ruan (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 482 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Ruan
Almost certainly the only Ruan in the class
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UK Popularity (1997–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Ruan
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Ruan-Henry Smith is a South African professional rugby union player currently signed to the New South Wales Waratahs of Super Rugby in Australia for Super Rugby Pacific.
Yong-Ling Ruan is a Chinese Australian plant molecular cell biologist known for his research on plant carbon metabolism, nutrient allocation, and sugar signaling.
Ruan Yuan, courtesy name Boyuan (ไผฏๅ ), art name Yuntai (่ธ่บ), posthumous name Wenda (ๆ้), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer of the Qing dynasty who was the most prominent Chinese scholar during the first half of the 19th century.
Ruan Tressoldi Netto, sometimes known simply as Ruan, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Campeonato Brasileiro Sรฉrie A club Atlรฉtico Mineiro, on loan from Sassuolo.