Head to head · Girls' names
Ruth vs Vivienne
#173 vs #172 in 2025
Vivienne is a whisker ahead (#172 vs #173 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Vivienne is climbing the charts fast, Ruth is back after a long quiet spell.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Ruth and Vivienne each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Ruth #71, Vivienne — — Ruth higher
- 1890s: Ruth #11, Vivienne #1299 — Ruth higher
- 1900s: Ruth #5, Vivienne #1318 — Ruth higher
- 1910s: Ruth #5, Vivienne #769 — Ruth higher
- 1920s: Ruth #6, Vivienne #918 — Ruth higher
- 1930s: Ruth #15, Vivienne #1554 — Ruth higher
- 1940s: Ruth #36, Vivienne #1602 — Ruth higher
- 1950s: Ruth #71, Vivienne #1922 — Ruth higher
- 1960s: Ruth #123, Vivienne #3061 — Ruth higher
- 1970s: Ruth #201, Vivienne #5305 — Ruth higher
- 1980s: Ruth #233, Vivienne #6573 — Ruth higher
- 1990s: Ruth #321, Vivienne #3981 — Ruth higher
- 2000s: Ruth #346, Vivienne #1799 — Ruth higher
- 2010s: Ruth #301, Vivienne #296 — Vivienne higher
- 2020s: Ruth #186, Vivienne #245 — Ruth higher
Ruth stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Ruth took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ruth | Vivienne |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #71 | — |
| 1890s | #11 | #1299 |
| 1900s | #5 | #1318 |
| 1910s | #5 | #769 |
| 1920s | #6 | #918 |
| 1930s | #15 | #1554 |
| 1940s | #36 | #1602 |
| 1950s | #71 | #1922 |
| 1960s | #123 | #3061 |
| 1970s | #201 | #5305 |
| 1980s | #233 | #6573 |
| 1990s | #321 | #3981 |
| 2000s | #346 | #1799 |
| 2010s | #301 | #296 |
| 2020s | #186 | #245 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Ruth
companion, friend
The Hebrew is usually read as a word about companionship, though the derivation is not secure. Four letters, one syllable, and an etymology that cannot be pinned down.
Rut → Ruth
How it traveled
The book is short, domestic and legal: a famine, a migration, two widows, a field, a kinsman with an obligation and a transaction at a town gate with ten witnesses. There is no miracle in it and God is mentioned but does nothing visible.
Vivienne
alive, living
From Latin vivus, "alive", through the Roman name Vivianus and its feminine Viviana.
Vivianus → Viviana → Viviane → Vivienne
How it traveled
The root is the Roman name Vivianus, formed from the Latin vivus, "alive". Its feminine, Viviana, passed into Old French as Viviane and Vivienne, and it was in French Arthurian prose romance of the thirteenth century that Viviane became the name of the Lady of the Lake.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Ruth
ROOTH
One syllable, rhyming with truth. Said essentially the same way in English, German, Spanish and Hebrew.
- Ruthie — The affectionate form; used widely and often on later paperwork.
- Ru — Cut to one sound; used inside families rather than written.
Vivienne
viv-ee-EN
Also widely said VIV-ee-en with the weight on the first syllable; both are accepted in American English. The French original puts the stress on the final syllable, which is where the four-beat version comes from.
- Viv — The standard short form across the whole Vivian family, and used on its own in casual speech and in print.
- Vivi — Informal, common with small children; sometimes written Vivvy.
- Vee — Initial-based and very informal, used within families and among friends.
- Vivie — An older written short form, appearing in English texts of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Who has carried each name
Ruth
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b. 1933) — Supreme Court justice who became "the Notorious RBG"
Ruth Handler (b. 1916) — Invented Barbie — and named her after her daughter
Vivienne
Vivienne Westwood (b. 1941) — The designer who brought punk to fashion
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ruth if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesRuth is 1 syllable to Vivienne's 3
- a long American recordRuth was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 54% for Vivienne
Choose Vivienne if you want…
- a name on the way upup 89 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itVivienne runs 3 syllables, Ruth 1
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Viv, Vivi and Vee
- a newer arrivalVivienne entered the US charts in 1895
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Ruth
Strengths
- One syllable and four letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It is recognized in Jewish and Christian tradition alike and spelled the same in most European languages.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the early twentieth century, though it has begun to return.
- The English word ruth, meaning pity, is dead except in ruthless, and people will mention it.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
Vivienne
Strengths
- Two well-worn short forms, Viv and Vivi, both in real use for generations and neither invented for the occasion.
- A documented line running from Latin through French to English, with a meaning that is settled rather than argued over.
- The same name exists in French, Italian and Spanish, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- Three spellings compete — Vivian, Vivien and Vivienne — and all three are legitimate. Expect to spell it out at appointments and on forms for life.
- Vivian has a long history as a man's name in Britain and as a surname, so the wider family reads as unisex even though this spelling does not.
- The pronunciation splits between viv-ee-EN and VIV-ee-en, and both will be used by people meeting her for the first time.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Ruth
12%chance Ruth feels dated by 2040
Ruth has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Vivienne
54%chance Vivienne feels dated by 2040
Vivienne is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Ruth and Vivienne in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Ruth and Vivienne?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- all guides
Where Ruth and Vivienne each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ruth or Vivienne — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ruth or Vivienne?
- Vivienne, in 2025: Vivienne ranked #172 with 1,786 babies; Ruth ranked #173 with 1,781 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ruth or Vivienne?
- Vivienne. Over the last five years Ruth moved up 46 places; Vivienne moved up 89 places.
- Which is the older name, Ruth or Vivienne?
- Ruth was already in use when US records began in 1880; Vivienne entered the US charts in 1895. On the American record, Ruth is the older name.
- How many people are named Ruth and Vivienne?
- About 233,000 people named Ruth are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 22,000 people named Vivienne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ruths or Viviennes in the classroom?
- Ruth will almost certainly be the only one in school. Vivienne will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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