Ruby
Feminine · Latin roots · “The red gemstone”
Ruby is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 376,570 girls against 3,114 boys since 1880. See Ruby as a boy name
Ruby is the English word for the red stone, pressed into service as a name during the Victorian passion for jewels — the same wave that brought Pearl and Opal off the jeweller's tray and onto birth certificates. It has two open syllables and a bright vowel to start, which is why it carries so well across a playground. It has been in continuous English-language use ever since, and charts today in Scotland, England and Wales, and Canada as well as here.
How old is the name Ruby?
Ruby was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ruby alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 160,000 people named Ruby are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ruby most popular?
Ruby peaked in 1911, reaching #22 nationally. Today it ranks #64, 42 places below that high. See the whole 1911 chart.
Where it comes from
From ruber (Latin, "red") to Ruby
The story of Ruby
The word arrived in English from Old French in the Middle Ages, and stayed a word for centuries before anyone thought to call a daughter by it. That change came in the nineteenth century, when English-speaking parents began naming girls after gemstones and flowers, and Ruby took to it better than most of its neighbors. It crossed with English and Irish emigration and settled firmly in Britain, Ireland, Australia and North America, where it has never entirely left. Some of the twentieth century's best-known bearers gave it a second life in public memory — among them Ruby Bridges, who walked into a newly desegregated New Orleans elementary school in 1960.
Meaning
The red gemstone; ultimately from Latin ruber, "red"
The chain runs from Latin ruber through Medieval Latin rubinus, the red stone, into Old French and then English.
Cultural footprint
Ruby Bridges (b. 1954) — At six, integrated her New Orleans school — immortalized by Norman Rockwell
Ruby Dee (b. 1922) — Stage and screen great of the civil rights era
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- ruberLatin, "red"
- rubinusMedieval Latin
- rubi / rubisOld French
- rubyEnglish
- Rubygiven name
Related forms: Rubí · Rubi · Rubina · Rubie · ルビー (Rubī)
Pronouncing Ruby
ROO-bee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Pronounced the same as the gemstone, and the same in every English-speaking country — one of the few names that needs no explaining at a roll call.
Nicknames for Ruby
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19248,406 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #22reached in 1911
- Change vs 2022
- −1.9%3,554 in 2025, from 3,621
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ruby in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rubí in Spanish — same name
- Rubi in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Rubina in Italian — related form
- Rubie in English — spelling variant
- ルビー (Rubī) in Japanese — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from National Records of Scotland, Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada. Sources
Rubys among us
people named Ruby are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 452 born in 2025 was named Ruby
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ruby 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Ruby is headed
Ruby should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ruby beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ruby in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and everyone can say it: it is an ordinary English word, so it survives phone calls, forms and teachers without a second attempt.
- A long unbroken record — in continuous use since the Victorian gemstone fashion, with living bearers across every adult generation.
- Charts on both sides of the Atlantic, in Scotland, England and Wales, and Canada, so it travels without becoming foreign.
- Short forms already exist in real use — Rubes, Roo, Ru — none of which have to be invented or explained.
- Two syllables ending in a vowel, which pairs easily with most one- and three-syllable surnames.
- It is also a common word and a common pet name, so a child will meet the gem, the color and somebody's dog under the same label.
- Rubi, Rubie and Rubey all exist, so expect an occasional wrong letter even though the main spelling is the familiar one.
- It carries a strong period flavor for some listeners — it was a great-grandmother's name before it came back around, and both associations are live at once.
- Ruby Tuesday is a US restaurant chain as well as a Rolling Stones song; the joke will be made once or twice and then forgotten.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ruby to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ruby
Feminine · Latin roots · #64 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rubys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 160,000 people named Ruby are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ruby in 2025?
- Ruby ranks #64 among US girl names in 2025, with 3,554 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Ruby?
- About 1 in every 452 US girls born in 2025 was named Ruby — 3,554 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ruby with classmates?
- Ruby will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ruby
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alice#65 · Clara#63 · Genesis#66 · Maya#62 · Iris#61 · Paisley#67 · Leilani#60 · Claire#68
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ruby? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ruby and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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