Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Ruth?
Births per year, rank history and how many Ruths are alive today.
Ruth (female), once a common girls' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 542nd in 2025 with 73 given the name. The name peaked in 1914, when around 950 babies were given the name, the 62nd most popular that year. It has declined since 1914; the 2025 figure is roughly 8% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 66,000 babies have been named Ruth in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Ruth you are most likely to meet is around 62 years old. Half of all Ruths born in England and Wales are between 42 and 74, and there are at least 36,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly an 11% chance that at least one of them will be called Ruth.
How many babies are named Ruth each year?
Where does Ruth rank among girls' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Ruth most popular?
Ruth peaked in 1914, when around 950 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Ruth?
At least 36,000 people named Ruth born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Ruth?
Most living Ruths are between 42 and 74; the most common age is about 62.
Is Ruth becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1914 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.