Ruari
A masculine Scottish name derived from the Gaelic 'Ruairidh', meaning "red king".
Name Census estimates that about 248 living Americans carry the first name Ruari. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Ruari today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruari births was 2016 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruari. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ruari with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
248
~ 1 in 1,382,074 Americans
Peak year
2016
25 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,311
Tracked since 2003
Census
Ruari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 270 people with the first name Ruari, which placed it at #31,633 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#31,633
National first-name rank
People counted
270
270 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruari is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.3%) and Hispanic (8.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ruari described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ruari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.7% · 218
- Two or more races9.3% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 22
- Black or African American1.1% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Ruari
Ruari is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 250 total registrations, 117 (46.8%) were male and 133 (53.2%) were female.
Ruari as a male name
- Ranked #13,803 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (14 births)
Ruari as a female name
- Ranked #13,311 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2016 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ruari on both sides of the split. Of the 266 people counted with this name, 139 were male (52.3%) and 127 were female (47.7%).
Popularity
Ruari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruari from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 150 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruari 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 Ruari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruari
The given name Ruari is of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Old Irish Ruaidhrí, which is composed of the elements "ruadh" meaning red, and "rí" meaning king. This name can be traced back to the 6th century, when it was prevalent among the ancient Celtic cultures of Ireland and Scotland.
Ruari was a popular name among the Scottish Highland clans, particularly in the Western Isles and the Hebrides. It was often associated with the influential Clan Macleod, who held significant power in the region during the medieval period. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 11th century, when a chieftain named Ruari Macleod was mentioned in the Annals of Ulster.
In Irish mythology, Ruari was the name of a legendary warrior and hero, known for his bravery and valor in battle. He was often depicted as a fierce protector of his people, and his exploits were chronicled in numerous ancient tales and bardic poems.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Ruari was Ruari Macleod (c. 1570-1626), a Scottish clan chief and warrior who played a pivotal role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was known for his unwavering loyalty to the Royalist cause and his fierce resistance against the Covenanters.
Another prominent Ruari was Ruari Og Macleod (c. 1590-1674), a Scottish poet and chief of the Clan Macleod. He was renowned for his poetic talents and his efforts to preserve the Gaelic language and culture during a time of significant upheaval in Scotland.
In the 18th century, Ruari Arascain Macleod (c. 1700-1783) was a celebrated Scottish bard and folklorist, known for his extensive collection of traditional Gaelic songs and stories. His work played a crucial role in preserving the rich oral traditions of the Scottish Highlands.
Ruari Mòr Macleod (c. 1670-1738), also known as Ruari the Great, was a prominent Scottish clan chief and military leader who fought alongside the Jacobites during the 1715 and 1719 uprisings against the House of Hanover. He was widely respected for his courage and leadership on the battlefield.
Finally, Ruari Halford-MacLeod (1836-1907) was a Scottish historian and genealogist who dedicated his life to researching and documenting the histories of various Scottish clans, including his own Clan Macleod. His works remain invaluable resources for understanding the complex lineages and traditions of the Scottish Highlands.
People
Ruari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruari 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
Ruari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruari 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 1,382,074 US residents.
Is Ruari a common name?
We classify Ruari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 250 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruari most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruari was 2016, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruari is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ruari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 270 people with the name Ruari, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,633 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ruari in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ruari?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ruari on both sides of the split. Of the 266 people counted with this name, 139 were male (52.3%) and 127 were female (47.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ruari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruari is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.3%) and Hispanic (8.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ruari most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ruari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (218 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ruari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ruari a female name?
Yes, 53.2% of people registered as Ruari 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.
Is Ruari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ruari in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ruari can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Ruari?
You can see how many people have the name Ruari on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.