2000
#2,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,481
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.74
Uncommon Last name
Ruth
A surname of Hebrew origin meaning "friend" or "companion."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,233 Americans carry the last name Ruth. That puts it at #2,483 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,115 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ruth surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ruth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,115
Census rank
#2,483
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,156 bearers of the surname Ruth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2483rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruth, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ruth
The surname Ruth has its origins in the Germanic language, deriving from the Old German word "roth" or "rod," meaning red. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive name referring to someone with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion.
Ruth is a name that can be traced back to the Middle Ages, with early records showing it to be present in various regions of Germany and the Netherlands. Some of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in medieval records from the 12th and 13th centuries.
In the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony in Germany, there are mentions of individuals with the surname Ruth dating back to the 13th century. This suggests that the name was already established and in use during that time period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Johannes Ruth, a merchant from the city of Hamburg in northern Germany, who was recorded in the city's archives in the year 1328. Another notable individual was Henricus Ruth, a landowner from the town of Lübeck, whose name appears in local records from 1412.
As people migrated and settled in different areas, the surname Ruth spread across various regions of Europe. In England, for instance, there are records of the name appearing as early as the 16th century, with variations such as Ruthe and Rooth.
One of the most famous historical figures with the surname Ruth was the renowned German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), whose mother's maiden name was Ruth. Kepler is best known for his laws of planetary motion and his contributions to the scientific revolution.
Another notable individual was the German painter and engraver Johann Christoph Ruth (1657-1719), who was renowned for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting scenes from the Black Forest region of Germany.
In the United States, the surname Ruth gained prominence through the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth (1895-1948), whose given name was George Herman Ruth Jr. Babe Ruth is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and is credited with helping to popularize the game in the early 20th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Ruth include the American writer and journalist Babe Ruth Bambino (1887-1948), the German-American composer and educator Gustav Ruth (1858-1940), and the American lawyer and jurist Jacob Ruth (1803-1870), who served as a judge in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruth
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruth, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ruth bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ruth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.6% · 11,123
- Black or African American12.5% · 1,776
- Two or more races3.9% · 552
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 519
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 67
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ruth
Ruth appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,012
-469 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 5.09
Rank movement Down 264 places
2020
#2,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,156
-856 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 4.74
Rank movement Down 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,150 | 15,481 | 5.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,414 | 15,012 | 5.09 | -469 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 264 places |
| 2020 | #2,483 | 14,156 | 4.74 | -856 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 69 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ruth surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,414 | #2,483 | -2.9% |
| Count | 15,012 | 14,156 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.09 | 4.74 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ruth bearers went from 15,012 to 14,156 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,414 to #2,483.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ruth
FAQ
Ruth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ruth?
Name Census estimates that about 16,233 living Americans carry the surname Ruth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,115 residents.
How common is Ruth?
Ruth ranks #2,483 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,156 people with the surname Ruth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,233), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Ruth.
Has Ruth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ruth went from 15,012 recorded bearers to 14,156. That is a decrease of 856 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,414 to #2,483.
What does the Census say about the background of Ruth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ruth, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ruth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.6% (11,123 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ruth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.6%), Black (12.5%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ruth (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ruth mean?
A surname of Hebrew origin meaning "friend" or "companion." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ruth (4.74 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Ruth?
See how many Americans have the surname Ruth on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.