Rury
An uncommon feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly related to rural.
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Rury. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rury today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rury births was 1993 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rury. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rury. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1993
8 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2010 SSA rank
#11,913
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Rury: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rury from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 24 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rury 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 Rury during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rurys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rury
The name Rury is believed to have originated from a combination of the old English words "ru" meaning red and "ry" meaning rye or grain. It is thought to have first appeared in medieval England around the 11th century, possibly derived from the nickname of someone with reddish hair who worked with grains or rye.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Rury can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript record of a survey of much of England and Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror. In this text, a landowner named Rury is mentioned as holding lands in the county of Sussex.
During the Middle Ages, the name Rury appears to have been relatively uncommon, with few notable historical figures bearing this name. However, in the 16th century, a Benedictine monk named Rury ap Gwilym (1522-1594) from Wales became known for his translations of religious texts into the Welsh language.
In the 17th century, an English soldier named Rury Mordaunt (1608-1668) gained recognition for his service in the English Civil War, fighting on the side of the Parliamentarians against King Charles I. He later went on to become a member of the English Parliament.
Another notable figure with the name Rury was Rury O'More (1620-1655), an Irish landowner and rebel who led an uprising against English rule in Ireland during the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
A century later, in 1771, a Scottish poet and songwriter named Rury Tytler (1711-1786) gained some renown for his collection of Scottish ballads and songs, which helped preserve many traditional Scottish folk tales and melodies.
While not a particularly common name throughout history, the name Rury has been borne by a number of individuals from various backgrounds, spanning several centuries and regions.
People
Rury + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rury 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
Rury: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rury?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rury 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 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Rury a common name?
We classify Rury as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 47 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rury most popular?
The single biggest year for Rury was 1993, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rury is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rury in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rury a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rury in the SSA data are male. 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 Rury still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rury 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 Rury 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Rury?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.