Rutledge
A masculine name derived from an English place name referring to a red ridge.
Name Census estimates that about 241 living Americans carry the first name Rutledge. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rutledge today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rutledge births was 2014 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rutledge. 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
241
~ 1 in 1,422,217 Americans
Peak year
2014
24 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,152
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Rutledge: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rutledge from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 154 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rutledge remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rutledge 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 Rutledge during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rutledges live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rutledge
The name Rutledge is an English surname that has been used as a given name. It originated from the Old English words "ryd" meaning "cleared land" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a clearing in a forest.
In the 12th century, the name appeared as "Ridlegh" in records from Nottinghamshire, England. Over time, variations like "Rydlegh", "Ruddelegh", and "Rutlege" emerged. The modern spelling "Rutledge" became more common in the 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Sir John Rutledge, who lived in the late 14th century. He was a Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in 1395.
In the American colonies, the name gained prominence with Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in 1749. His brother John Rutledge, born in 1739, served as the 2nd Chief Justice of the United States and was the first Governor of South Carolina.
Another notable bearer of this name was Ann Rutledge, born in 1813. She was a friend and romantic interest of Abraham Lincoln. Her untimely death at age 22 had a profound impact on the future president.
In the 19th century, Archibald Rutledge, born in 1883, was a renowned American poet, teacher, and conservationist from South Carolina. He wrote several books celebrating the natural beauty of the region.
More recently, Ian Rutledge was a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective created by author Charles Todd in a series of mystery novels set in the aftermath of World War I.
People
Rutledge + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rutledge 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
Rutledge: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rutledge?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 241 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rutledge 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 1,422,217 US residents.
Is Rutledge a common name?
We classify Rutledge as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 315 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rutledge most popular?
The single biggest year for Rutledge was 2014, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rutledge is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rutledge a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rutledge 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.