Ruth is a distinctive choice, ranked #497 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Ruth in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#497
US Rank #172
About the Name Ruth
Ruth is climbing rapidly up the charts, having climbed 85 places in just five years. Its best recorded rank was #120 in 1996 — and current momentum suggests it could challenge that mark again. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Ruth is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
In the US it ranks even higher at #172, where it enjoys a particularly strong following.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Ruth
Unlikely. With around 79 UK babies named Ruth per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Ruth in her class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Ruth is currently rising in popularity in the UK, up 85 places over the last five years to #497 in 2024. If this trend continues, it will become more common in classrooms over the next decade.
Ruth is more popular in the US (#172) than in the UK (#497). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Ruth include: Ruth Pointer — Ruth Esther Pointer is an American singer best known as the eldest member of the family vocal group the Pointer Sisters.; Ruth Gottesman — Ruth Levy Gottesman is an American educator.; Ruth Slenczynska — Ruth Slenczynska is an American classical pianist and the last living piano student of Sergei Rachmaninoff..
Ruth appears in the US top 500 at #172 in 2024 — moderately popular in America, though less so than in the UK.
79
UK babies named Ruth (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 85 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Ruth
Likely around 1 other Ruth in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2024)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Ruth
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Ruth Esther Pointer is an American singer best known as the eldest member of the family vocal group the Pointer Sisters. Pointer joined her sisters in 1972 to make the group a quartet.
Ruth Levy Gottesman is an American educator. Gottesman is the chair of the board of trustees of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) in the Bronx, New York, and a long-time professor there.
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was viewed as a moderate consensus-builder.