Ruby
Masculine · “the red stone”
Ruby is given to girls far more often — 376,570 girls against 3,114 boys since 1880. See Ruby as a girl name
Ruby on a boy is not an error in the record. In 1906 it stood inside the American top four hundred and twenty-five for boys, and it was used steadily on both sexes through the first third of the twentieth century, particularly in the South. The idea that gem names are exclusively feminine is younger than the name's own American history, and Ruby is one of the clearest pieces of evidence for that.
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 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 1,000 people named Ruby are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ruby most popular?
Ruby peaked in 1906, reaching #424 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 5,437 places below that high. See the whole 1906 chart.
Where it comes from
From ruber to Ruby
The story of Ruby
Jewel names entered English naming in the nineteenth century — Ruby, Pearl, Opal, Beryl, Garnet — as part of the same Victorian taste that gave us the flower names. In their first decades several of them were used on both sexes, and American records for the 1880s through the 1920s carry male Rubys, Pearls and Opals in real numbers, concentrated in the South and the border states. The sorting into strictly feminine use happened later and was gradual. Ruby's male career ended by the 1940s; its female career continued and has recently revived strongly on both sides of the Atlantic.
Meaning
the red stone
Latin rubeus means red, from ruber, the ordinary word for the color; medieval Latin rubinus described the red stone, and Old French rubi gave English ruby in the fourteenth century. The stone is a red variety of corundum, and its name is straightforwardly a color word. There is no second etymology and no dispute. On some American bearers the name is also a respelling or short form of Reuben, which is a different name from a different language.
How the name formed
- ruber
- rubinus
- rubi
- Ruby
Related forms: Rubi · Rubis · Rubino
Pronouncing Ruby
ROO-bee
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly as the stone. Identical on either sex, and there is no competing saying in English.
Nicknames for Ruby
Moderate
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 boys named
- 192076 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #424reached in 1906
- Change vs 2022
- −21.1%15 in 2025, from 19
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
- Rubi in Spanish — spelling variant
- Rubis in French — related form
- Rubino in Italian — related form
Rubys among us
people named Ruby are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 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 sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Ruby beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ruby in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is an ordinary English word, so nobody has to be taught to spell or say it.
- It has a documented American history on boys, not only on girls.
- The meaning is a single concrete object with a clean Latin derivation.
- In current American use it is overwhelmingly a girls' name and will be read that way.
- Forms and databases will frequently assume female.
- It is easily confused with Reuben, from which some bearers' families derived it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ruby to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Ruby? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ruby
Masculine · #5861 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 1,000 people named Ruby are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ruby in 2025?
- Ruby ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ruby?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Ruby — 15 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.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Sebastiano#5861 · Newton#5861
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.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle