Origin of the name Ruth:
Of uncertain etymology, most believe Ruth to be derived from the Hebrew rūth, a possible contraction of rē'ūth (companion, friend). The name is borne in the Bible by a Moabite woman who was devoted to her mother-in-law. Her story is told in the Book of Ruth.
From A World of Baby Names by Teresa Norman. Buy the bookDoes Ruth sound...
Sibling Names for Ruth...
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Reader Contributions
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- Personal experiences with the name Ruth: | Edit
Ruth is a very popular name among Christians in the USA, but when I was studying French in Europe, one of my teachers advised me (knowing I was a Gentile) never to name a child Ruth b/c everyone would think she was Jewish. That would not particularly bother me anyway, and when I moved on to French West Africa, I found that Ruth was very popular in the churches. (I ended up naming one of my daughters Ruthanne, actually).
- Nicknames for Ruth: | Edit
Rue, Roo, Rusty, Ruthie
- Meanings and history of the name Ruth: | Edit
Found in the Old testament book of Ruth. Ruth was a faithful daughter-in-law of Naomi. Ruth 1:16 says 'But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God."' Ruth's son was part of the lineage of Christ.
- Famous real-life people named Ruth: | Edit
Ruth Chatterton, actress
Ruth Roman, actress
Ruth Gordon, author and actress
Ruth Graham, writer and wife of evangelist Billy Graham
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, writer
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice- Ruth in song, story & screen: | Edit
The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton, a Oprah Book Club pick
Ruth Jamison, beautiful gentle character in Fannie Flagg's book (and later film) "Fried Green Tomatoes".
In Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" series of books for young adults, a tough, clever, adventurous girl named Ruth hates her name and goes by Nancy instead - because Amazon pirates are supposed to be "ruthless."
NameVoyager US Popularity of Ruth Over Time
NameMapper Current Popularity of Ruth by State
Global Popularity of the Name Ruth
- #96 in Ireland
- #218 in Norway
- #297 in Scotland
- #362 in United States
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