Ruthy
A feminine form of the Hebrew name Ruth meaning "friend, vision of beauty".
Name Census estimates that about 532 living Americans carry the first name Ruthy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ruthy today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruthy births was 1958 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruthy. 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
532
~ 1 in 644,275 Americans
Peak year
1958
29 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,897
Tracked since 1913
Census
Ruthy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 699 people with the first name Ruthy, which placed it at #16,219 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
#16,219
National first-name rank
People counted
699
699 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruthy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruthy is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.8%) and Black (19.5%). 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 Ruthy 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 Ruthy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.5% · 304
- Hispanic or Latino25.8% · 180
- Black or African American19.5% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 54
- Two or more races2.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6
Popularity
Ruthy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruthy from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 172 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruthy 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 Ruthy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ruthys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Ruthy, while California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruthy
The name Ruthy is a feminine given name derived from the Hebrew name Ruth. It has its origins in ancient Judaic culture and is believed to have originated around the 6th century BCE.
The name Ruth is derived from the Hebrew word "re'ut," which means "friend" or "companion." It is also related to the Hebrew word "ravah," which means "to drink one's fill" or "to be satisfied." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with concepts of friendship, companionship, and contentment.
The Book of Ruth, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, tells the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman who remained loyal to her mother-in-law Naomi and embraced the Israelite faith. This biblical narrative has made the name Ruth a significant one in Judeo-Christian traditions, and it has been popular among Jews and Christians throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ruthy appears in the 16th century. Ruthy Ansbacher was a German-Jewish scholar and writer who lived from 1550 to 1620. She was known for her contributions to the study of Jewish law and her writings on various religious topics.
In the 18th century, Ruthy Abravanel was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Venice, Italy. She was a philanthropist and supported various educational and charitable initiatives in the city.
Another notable figure named Ruthy was Ruthy Berman, an American artist and activist who lived from 1918 to 2003. She was known for her abstract expressionist paintings and her advocacy for civil rights and social justice causes.
Ruthy Alon was an Israeli author and educator who lived from 1927 to 2009. She wrote several books for children and young adults, many of which explored themes of social justice and human rights.
In more recent times, Ruthy Pribar was an Israeli Olympic athlete who competed in track and field events. She represented Israel in the 1972 Munich Olympics and won a silver medal in the long jump event.
While the name Ruthy has its roots in ancient Judaic culture and the Hebrew language, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and communities throughout history. The name's association with concepts of friendship, companionship, and contentment has likely contributed to its enduring popularity over the centuries.
People
Ruthy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruthy 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
Ruthy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruthy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 532 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruthy 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 644,275 US residents.
Is Ruthy a common name?
We classify Ruthy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 916 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruthy most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruthy was 1958, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruthy is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ruthy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 699 people with the name Ruthy, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,219 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 Ruthy 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 Ruthy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ruthy leans strongly female. 696 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 14 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Ruthy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruthy is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.8%) and Black (19.5%). 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 Ruthy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ruthy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.5% (304 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 Ruthy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ruthy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ruthy 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 Ruthy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ruthy 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 Ruthy 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 Ruthy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.