Ruta
A feminine name of Lithuanian origin meaning "rue" or "herb".
Name Census estimates that about 265 living Americans carry the first name Ruta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ruta today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruta births was 1964 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruta. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ruta with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
265
~ 1 in 1,293,413 Americans
Peak year
1964
28 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,165
Tracked since 1950
Census
Ruta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,238 people with the first name Ruta, which placed it at #10,662 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
#10,662
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,238 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruta is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.2%) and Black (16.4%). 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 Ruta 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 Ruta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.9% · 742
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.2% · 250
- Black or African American16.4% · 203
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 22
- Two or more races1.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Popularity
Ruta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruta from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 123 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruta 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 Ruta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rutas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruta
The name Ruta is of Lithuanian origin and is believed to have derived from the plant rue, which is known for its distinctive aroma and medicinal properties. In Lithuanian, the word "rūta" refers to this herb, indicating that the name may have been initially given to individuals associated with its cultivation or use.
Ruta is an ancient name that can be traced back to the early medieval period in Lithuania, a country located in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It has been recorded in historical documents and records from as early as the 14th century, reflecting its long-standing presence in the region's cultural and linguistic heritage.
While the name Ruta is primarily of Lithuanian origin, it has also been adopted and used in other Slavic and Baltic cultures, particularly in neighboring countries such as Poland and Russia. In these regions, the name may have slightly different spellings or pronunciation variations, but it retains its connection to the plant rue.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ruta can be found in the historical chronicles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where it is mentioned as the name of a noble woman from the 15th century. Another notable figure bearing this name was Ruta Skvirskaitė (1568-1640), a Lithuanian noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable works and support of education.
In the realm of literature and arts, Ruta Peperta (1903-1994) was a prominent Lithuanian painter and graphic artist who gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive works. Additionally, Ruta Pankūnaitė (1924-2020) was a celebrated Lithuanian writer and translator, renowned for her contributions to Lithuanian literature and her translations of renowned authors like Gabriel García Márquez.
Beyond Lithuania, the name Ruta has also been used in other parts of the world, particularly among those with Lithuanian or Slavic heritage. For example, Ruta Lee (born 1935) is an American actress and dancer of Lithuanian descent, known for her roles in films and television shows throughout the 20th century.
Overall, the name Ruta has a rich history rooted in the cultural traditions of Lithuania and the Baltic region, reflecting its connection to the fragrant rue plant and its enduring presence across generations and artistic disciplines.
People
Ruta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruta 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
Ruta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 265 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruta 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 1,293,413 US residents.
Is Ruta a common name?
We classify Ruta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 322 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruta most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruta was 1964, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruta is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ruta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,238 people with the name Ruta, or 0.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,662 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 Ruta 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 Ruta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ruta appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,238 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Ruta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruta is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.2%) and Black (16.4%). 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 Ruta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ruta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (742 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 Ruta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ruta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ruta 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 Ruta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ruta 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 Ruta 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 named Ruta?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.