Ruth

Hebrew

"compassionate friend"

Ruth Origin and Meaning

The name Ruth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "compassionate friend".

Ruth, with its air of calm and compassion, was the third most popular name in the 1890s, remaining in the Top 10 through the 1920s. It's still in use today as some parents tiring of Rachel and Rebecca are giving Ruth a second thought. Some see such Old Testament girls’ names as Ruth and Esther rising on the heels of boy equivalents Abel and Moses.

The biblical Ruth was the loyal and devoted daughter-in-law of Naomi who, when electing to leave her people and stay with the older woman, speaks the famous lines, "Whither thou goest, I will go."

Ruth has had numerous notable namesakes, from Supreme Court justice Ginsburg to crime writer Rendell to sexologist Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

Ruth Rank in US Top 1000

# 187 in the US

Ruth Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 181 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Ruth

• 187 US 2023
• 181 Nameberry 2025
• 172 Future 2028
• 551 England 2023
• 96 Ireland 2014
• 340 Mexico 2021
• 90 Sweden 2024
• 18 Israel 2023

20 Names Similar to Ruth

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ruth.

• Louise
• Dorothy
• Frances
• Harriet
• Louisa
• Susannah
• Virginia
• Martha
• Greta
• Helen
• Margaret
• Betty
• Menno
• Philippa
• Lallia
• Barret
• Edweena
• Edith
• Henrietta
• Joséphine

Famous People Named Ruth

• Ruth Biblical daughter,in,law of Naomi
• Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Ruth Negga Irish,Ethiopian actress and Academy Award nominee
• Ruth Cleveland daughter of U.S. President Grover Cleveland; inspiration for the Baby Ruth bar
• Ruth Wilson English actress
• Dr. Ruth Westheimer (born Karola Ruth Siegel) German,American sex therapist
• Ruth Ann Buzzi American comedienne
• Ruth Fulton Benedict American anthropologist
• Ruth Carter Stapleton American Christian author
• Ruth Flora Disney sister of Walt Disney
• Ruth Malcolmson Miss America 1924
• Ruth Barbara Rendell Baroness Rendell of Babergh, aka Barbara Vine, English thriller novelist
• Ruth Bell Graham wife of evangelist Billy Graham
• Ruth Payne sister of Liam Payne of boy band One Direction
• Ruth Roman American actress
• Ruth Crilly English model and blogger
• Ruth Wendy Langsford English TV presenter
• Ruth Pointer singer with American R&B group The Pointer Sisters
• Ruth Weinstein (b. 2002) daughter of film producer Harvey Weinstein
• Ruth Ray De La luz 'Ruthie Ray' Leonard (b. 2019) daughter of Bekah Martinez and Grayston Leonard
• Ruth Harkness American explorer

The name Ruth in Pop Culture

• Ruth eight book in the Bible
• Baby Ruth candy bar named for Ruth Cleveland
• Ruth main character in book/movie "Never Let Me Go"
• Ruth Rose main character in "A,Z Mysteries" by Ron Roy
• Ruth Dead (née Foster) character in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• Ruth Anne 'Ruthie' Camden character on TV's '7th Heaven' named after her grandmother Ruth
• Ruth pirate maid,of,all,work in opera "The Pirates of Penzance"
• Ruth professional bridesmaid in opera "Ruddigore"
• Ruth Pinch character in Dickens' "Martin Chuzzlewit"
• Ruth Zionist with whom Clarel falls in love in "Clarel" by Herman Melville
• Mrs Ruth Stockwool companion to Ann Avice Caro in "The Well Beloved" (1897) by Thomas Hardy
• Ruth Jefferson main character in Jodi Picoult's novel "Small Great Things"
• Ruth Ann Torkelson character on TV's "The Torkelsons"
• Ruth Anne Miller, character from TV series "Northern Exposure"
• Ruth archangel in Ghost Rider comics
• Ruth character in George Alfred Henty's, The Cat of Bubastes
• Ruth dragon in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern novels
• Ruth DeWitt Bukater character in movie "Titanic"
• Ruth O'Connor Fisher character on TV's "Six Feet Under"
• Ruth Fowler character on British soap "EastEnders"
• Ruth Evershed character on British TV's "Spooks"
• Ruth Winters character on British TV's "Casualty"
• Ruth Martin mom on TV's "Lassie"
• Ruth Martin character on soap "All My Children"
• Ruth Osborne character on British soap "Hollyoaks"
• Ruth Wilkinson character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
• Ruth Powers character on TV's "The Simpsons"
• Ruth "Zoya the Destroya" Wilder character on TV's "GLOW"
• Ruth American Christian band
• Tina Ruth Belcher eldest daughter on Fox's "Bob's Burgers"

International Variations of the name Ruth

• Ruthven Scottish
• Rut Scandinavian
• Rút Gaelic