girls' name ★ peaked 1924

Ruby

Meaning The female name derives from ruby in the 19th century Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #64 Trend → Stable

The female name derives from ruby in the 19th century.

Rank 2025
#64
among girls · ↓2 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,569
named Ruby · +1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 452
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1924
8,472 babies
All-time total
379,684
#96 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Ruby popularity over time

379,684 babies have been named Ruby since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 2,603 42 2,645 265 – #78
1890s 8,699 120 8,819 882 +233% #52
1900s 18,175 178 18,353 1,835 +108% #27
1910s 60,308 504 60,812 6,081 +231% #22
1920s 76,738 652 77,390 7,739 +27% #25
1930s 47,648 523 48,171 4,817 -38% #36
1940s 31,872 268 32,140 3,214 -33% #66
1950s 20,550 153 20,703 2,070 -36% #130
1960s 10,164 113 10,277 1,028 -50% #229
1970s 6,433 86 6,519 652 -37% #345
1980s 6,312 139 6,451 645 -1% #329
1990s 10,556 137 10,693 1,069 +66% #256
2000s 22,032 54 22,086 2,209 +107% #108
2010s 33,467 56 33,523 3,352 +52% #66
2020s (to 2025) 21,013 89 21,102 3,517 +5% #62

Where Ruby is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 3,564 2.22 #64
2027 3,572 2.22 #64
2028 3,579 2.23 #64
2029 3,585 2.23 #64
2030 3,590 2.23 #64

Where Ruby is most popular

Girls named Ruby per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.18 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Vermont, and Montana.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Ruby born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wyoming 36 8.44 +288%
Vermont 38 7.84 +260%
Montana 101 7.46 +243%
Utah 550 6.61 +203%
Alaska 55 6.39 +193%
North Dakota 74 5.63 +158%
Rhode Island 65 5.19 +138%
Idaho 171 5.11 +135%
Nebraska 182 5.06 +132%
South Dakota 71 4.97 +128%
District of Columbia 58 4.89 +125%
Iowa 277 4.74 +118%
Oregon 304 4.67 +114%
Minnesota 458 4.24 +95%
New Hampshire 78 4.22 +94%
Maine 61 3.94 +81%
Kansas 220 3.81 +75%
Wisconsin 384 3.73 +71%
Arkansas 197 3.73 +71%
Colorado 410 3.67 +69%
Indiana 503 3.58 +64%
West Virginia 93 3.55 +63%
Washington 498 3.45 +58%
Tennessee 532 3.36 +54%
Missouri 402 3.34 +53%
Kentucky 284 3.32 +52%
Oklahoma 238 3.23 +48%
Hawaii 36 3.14 +44%
Ohio 741 3.12 +43%
New Mexico 74 3.04 +40%
Mississippi 136 2.91 +33%
Arizona 406 2.89 +33%
Massachusetts 346 2.86 +31%
Michigan 513 2.82 +29%
Nevada 129 2.78 +27%
Connecticut 156 2.68 +23%
Louisiana 233 2.66 +22%
North Carolina 605 2.66 +22%
Alabama 249 2.65 +22%
Illinois 587 2.56 +18%
Pennsylvania 581 2.46 +13%
South Carolina 208 2.31 +6%
Virginia 392 2.30 +6%
California 1,894 2.25 ≈ national
Georgia 502 2.21 ≈ national
New York 870 2.20 ≈ national
Maryland 224 2.11 ≈ national
Delaware 23 2.03 -7%
New Jersey 337 1.87 -14%
Florida 720 1.68 -23%
Texas 1,341 1.67 -23%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ruby

Ruby is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #64 in 2025 with 3,554 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 379,684 American babies have been named Ruby. Its peak came in 1924, when 8,472 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ruby stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ruby?

The median living Ruby is about 29 years old; half are between 11 and 73. An estimated 161 thousand people named Ruby are alive in the United States today.

median 29 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ruby year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 3,554 #64 15 #6,082
2024 3,533 #62 18 #5,401
2023 3,364 #65 13 #6,820
2022 3,621 #62 19 #5,180
2021 3,599 #62 14 #6,281
2020 3,342 #74 10 #7,948
2019 3,738 #66 8 #9,583
2018 3,591 #74 6 #11,871
2017 3,587 #79 6 #11,936
2016 3,847 #71 8 #9,504
2015 3,467 #83 – –
2014 3,430 #90 – –
2013 3,321 #93 10 #7,985
2012 2,918 #105 7 #10,540
2011 2,770 #109 6 #11,980
2010 2,798 #113 5 #13,862
2009 3,019 #108 5 #14,090
2008 3,021 #113 5 #14,206
2007 2,900 #116 8 #9,591
2006 2,582 #137 11 #7,325
2005 2,472 #130 – –
2004 2,120 #158 – –
2003 1,707 #189 11 #6,634
2002 1,579 #208 – –
2001 1,366 #232 7 #9,038
2000 1,266 #258 7 #8,950
1995 1,053 #260 13 #4,734
1990 954 #291 21 #3,041
1985 593 #384 12 #3,759
1980 659 #357 11 #3,801
1975 628 #346 10 #3,618
1970 694 #358 9 #3,475
1965 984 #276 12 #2,447
1960 1,386 #229 15 #2,190
1955 2,009 #173 13 #2,292
1950 2,414 #130 21 #1,648
1945 2,904 #95 22 #1,435
1940 3,619 #66 46 #948
1935 4,764 #41 57 #831
1930 5,993 #36 62 #831
1925 7,843 #30 65 #830
1920 8,336 #26 76 #762
1915 7,237 #24 58 #801
1910 2,893 #27 23 #616
1905 1,885 #38 15 #632
1900 1,540 #51 22 #511
1895 954 #66 19 #474
1890 540 #81 5 #1,132
1885 272 #106 5 #1,074
1880 92 #149 6 #891

Famous people named Ruby

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ruby Rose Ruby Rose Australian actress and model (born 1986) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ruby Bridges Ruby Bridges American civil rights activist (born 1954) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ruby Dee Ruby Dee American actress (1922–2014) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ruby Keeler Ruby Keeler Canadian-American actress, dancer, and singer (1909–1993) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ruby Lin Ruby Lin Taiwanese actress, singer and producer (born 1976) Contemporary
  6. 6 Ruby Riott Ruby Riott American professional wrestler (born 1991) Contemporary
  7. 7 Ruby Myers Ruby Myers Indian actress (1907–1983) Contemporary
  8. 8 Ruby Payne-Scott Ruby Payne-Scott Australian radio astronomer 1912–1981 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ruby, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ruby?

The median living Ruby is about 29 years old. Half of all living Rubys are between 11 and 73 years old.

How many people named Ruby are alive today?

An estimated 161 thousand people named Ruby are alive in the United States, based on 379,684 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ruby mean?

The female name derives from ruby in the 19th century.

How popular is the name Ruby in 2025?

Ruby ranked #64 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,554 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ruby?

379,684 babies have been named Ruby in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ruby most popular?

Ruby peaked in 1924, when 8,472 newborns received the name.

Is Ruby a boy or girl name?

Ruby is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ruby rising or falling?

Ruby has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Ruby become more popular?

Ruby looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,590 girls named Ruby in 2030, ranking around #64. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ruby?

Well-known people named Ruby include Ruby Rose (actor), Ruby Bridges (social activist), Ruby Dee (actor).

Names like Ruby

Names that sound and feel close to Ruby: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ruby with similar names → More names starting with R →