Ruth

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 12 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Ruth is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name2.9M records spelled Ruth26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, United States

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian

  Also written Rüth, Rúth, R'Uth, Řüťh, Ŕuth

• a separate given name215K records spelled Ruth3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy

  Also written Růth, Rüth

• Polish given name46K records spelled Ruth26 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Russian

  Also written Rut, Rüth, Рут, Rūt, Rūth

• Indonesian given name36K records spelled Ruth7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Peru

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written 'Ruth, Ruth', Řúth, Rüth

• Finnish given name28K records spelled Ruth8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Hungary, United States, Estonia

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Rűth, Řůth, Rùth, Rüth

97 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Ruth is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Ruth represents the virtue of 'hesed' (loving-kindness/loyalty) and demonstrates God's grace extending to Gentiles, integrating them into the covenant people of Israel.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• A classic biblical name symbolizing deep friendship, loyalty, and devotion.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, from ME reuthe ‘pity’; first attested William Ruth 1180 P (L)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, Biblical name of unknown derivation; increasingly popular in Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, wretched one, from ME reuthe pity (a deriv. of rewen to pity, OE hreowan). The given name Ruth was little used in the Middle Ages among non-Jews, and is unlikely to have had any influence on the surname. Rutherford Scots: habitation name from a place in the

  as a name·The Oxford Names Companion - The definitive guide to Surnames, First Names, and Place Names of the British Isles

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ruth Benedictb. 1887USAmerican anthropologist and folklorologist (1887-1948)
• Ruth Gordonb. 1896USAmerican actress and writer (1896–1985)
• Ruth Handlerb. 1916USAmerican businesswoman
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvalab. 1927USGerman-born British-American author (1927-2013)
• Ruth Bader Ginsburgb. 1933USAmerican lawyer and jurist (1933–2020)
• Margot Kidderb. 1948CAnot in their usual nameCanadian and American actress and activist (1948–2018)
• Cheryl Hinesb. 1965USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Angela Beesleyb. 1977GBnot in their usual nameco-founder of Wikia
• Ruth Wilsonb. 1982GBBritish actress
• Alexandra Shippb. 1991USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress and singer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,907 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Ruth?

We estimate roughly 431 thousand people bear Ruth (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Ruth have the most bearers?

Ruth is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled ruth.

Where is Ruth most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Ruth is densest in Iceland — about 1 in 206 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Ruth compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Ruth is the 96th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Ruth a male or female name?

Ruth is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Ruth mean?

Recorded meaning: Medieval nickname for a person who took pity on others or was worthy of pity.