Rutger
A masculine name derived from a Germanic language, meaning "renowned spearman".
Name Census estimates that about 263 living Americans carry the first name Rutger. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rutger today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rutger births was 1993 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rutger. 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
263
~ 1 in 1,303,248 Americans
Peak year
1993
23 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,708
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Rutger: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rutger from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 151 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
Rutger 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 Rutger during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rutgers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rutger
The name Rutger originated in the Netherlands and Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic elements "hruod" meaning "fame" and "ger" meaning "spear". The name essentially translates to "famous spearman" or "renowned warrior".
Rutger was a popular name among the Franks, a Germanic tribe that settled in the region that is now the Netherlands and parts of Germany. It has been used as a given name in these regions since the 8th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rutger is from the 9th century Carolingian dynasty. Rutger was the name of a nobleman who served as a courtier to the Frankish king Louis the Pious.
In the 11th century, a monk named Rutger of St. Trond lived in the Benedictine abbey of St. Trond in present-day Belgium. He is known for writing several religious texts and hymns during his lifetime.
During the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, the name Rutger was borne by several notable individuals. Rutger Huygens (1625-1664) was a distinguished jurist and diplomat who served in the court of the Dutch Stadtholder. Rutger Hermannides (1616-1688) was a Dutch theologian and philosopher who made contributions to the field of education.
In more recent times, the name Rutger has been carried by the Dutch-American actor Rutger Hauer (1944-2019), who gained international fame for his roles in films such as Blade Runner and The Hitcher.
Another notable bearer of the name Rutger is the Dutch artist Rutger Grau (1723-1777), who was a prominent painter of portraits and historical scenes during the 18th century.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rutger
People
Rutger + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rutger 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
Rutger: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rutger?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 263 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rutger 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 1,303,248 US residents.
Is Rutger a common name?
We classify Rutger as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 269 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rutger most popular?
The single biggest year for Rutger was 1993, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rutger is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rutger a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rutger 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.
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.