Ruah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "breath" or "wind".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Ruah. It is a predominantly female name (92.7% of registrations). The average person named Ruah today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruah births was 2024 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2024
29 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,742
Tracked since 2010
Gender
Gender distribution for Ruah
Ruah leans heavily female at 92.7% of total registrations, but 12 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ruah as a male name
- Ranked #10,672 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (7 births)
Ruah as a female name
- Ranked #5,742 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (22 births)
Popularity
Ruah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruah from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 94 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ruah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ruahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruah
The name Ruah is of Hebrew origin, derived from the word "ruach," meaning "breath," "wind," or "spirit." It is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where it is used to describe the life-giving breath of God. The name has its roots in ancient Semitic languages and is closely related to the Arabic word "ruh," which also means "spirit" or "soul."
In the Book of Genesis, the word "ruach" is used to describe the Spirit of God that hovered over the waters during the creation of the world. This association with the divine breath of life has given the name Ruah a deep spiritual significance in Jewish and Christian traditions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ruah can be found in the biblical Book of Ezekiel, where it is mentioned in the context of a vision of dry bones being brought back to life by the breath of God. This passage has been interpreted as a metaphor for the restoration of the exiled Israelites to their homeland.
Throughout history, the name Ruah has been borne by several notable figures, including Ruah bat Yaakov (c. 1500 BCE), a Hebrew midwife mentioned in the Book of Exodus. Another prominent figure was Ruah ben Elijah (c. 900 BCE), a prophet who is believed to have lived during the reign of King Ahab in ancient Israel.
In the Middle Ages, Ruah was the name of a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher, Ruah ben Maimon (1135-1204), who was the son of the famous Jewish philosopher Maimonides. Ruah ben Maimon made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and Jewish law.
During the Renaissance period, Ruah Abravanel (1437-1508) was a prominent Jewish diplomat and scholar who served as a confidant to several European monarchs, including Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. He is notable for his efforts to defend Jews during the Spanish Inquisition.
Another notable figure with the name Ruah was Ruah ben Yitzchak (1723-1798), a renowned Kabbalist and Talmudic scholar from Poland. His teachings and writings had a significant influence on the development of Hasidic Judaism.
The name Ruah has maintained its spiritual and cultural significance throughout history, carrying with it the symbolic connotations of breath, life, and the divine spirit.
People
Ruah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ruah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Ruah a common name?
We classify Ruah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruah most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruah was 2024, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruah is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ruah a female name?
Yes, 92.7% of people registered as Ruah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.