Feminine dossier · first seen 1880
Ruth
Endangered
Down 93.2% from peak
Peak era
1920
Peak births
26,102
Current vitality
Healthy
Peak generation
Greatest Generation
Quick answers about Ruth
How many people are named Ruth?
An estimated 161,344 living Americans are named Ruth.
How rare is Ruth?
Ruth is moderately uncommon among babies today, with 1,781 girls receiving the name in 2025, down 93.2% from its 1920 peak.
How old is the typical Ruth?
The median age of a living American named Ruth is approximately 65 years, with most bearers falling between 39 and 75 years old.
Is Ruth still popular?
No. Ruth is endangered as a baby name, down 93.2% from its 1920 peak with 1,781 births in 2025.
Where is Ruth most common?
Ruth has its strongest geographic signal in Montana, where it appears 4.0× more often than the national baseline.
1880Peak 19202025
Peak year
1920
Decline from peak
93.2%
2025
1,781
All-time
836,122
Where it lives now
Ruth is most concentrated in Montana — about 4.0× the national rate in the 2020s.
States where Ruth is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.