Rui
Masculine · “famous power”
Rui is given to both — 887 boys and 85 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Rui is the Portuguese of Rodrigo — famous power, in Germanic — and El Cid's given name was Rodrigo.
How old is the name Rui?
Rui first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Rui alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 900 people named Rui are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rui most popular?
Rui peaked in 1974, reaching #2050 nationally. Today it ranks #2641, 591 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
From hrod ric to Rui
The story of Rui
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar is El Cid, the eleventh-century commander whose title comes from the Arabic al-sayyid, the lord — a Christian warlord named by his Muslim opponents. Portuguese contracted the name to Rui. Rui Barbosa was a Brazilian jurist. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
famous power
Through Rodrigo, from the Germanic hrod, 'fame', and ric, 'ruler' or 'power'. Portuguese contracted Rodrigo to Rui. A separate Japanese Rui and Chinese Rui exist with their own characters. The Germanic elements are documented.
How the name formed
- hrod ric
- Rodrigo
- Rui
Related forms: Rui · Ruy · 類
Pronouncing Rui
ROO-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Japanese Rui is one syllable with a palatalised r.
Nicknames for Rui
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
- 1967
- Most boys named
- 202462 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2050reached in 1974
- Change vs 2024
- −21.0%49 in 2025, from 62
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.
Rui in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rui in Portuguese — same name
- Ruy in Spanish — spelling variant
- 類 in Japanese — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Washington.
Ruis among us
people named Rui are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 34,859 born in 2025 was named Rui
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rees test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rui's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rees climbed just as high around 1939, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rees's path sketches the road Rui is walking now.
Rui 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
Where Rui is headed
Rui looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 49% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium 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.
Rui beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rui in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That El Cid's title is Arabic and given by his opponents is a first-rate fact.
- Rodrigo is available as a full formal version.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk once heard.
- The Japanese and Portuguese names are unrelated.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
- English speakers may read it as one syllable.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Rui
Masculine · #2641 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ruis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Rui are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rui in 2025?
- Rui ranks #2641 among US boy names in 2025, with 49 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rui?
- About 1 in every 34,859 US boys born in 2025 was named Rui — 49 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rui with classmates?
- Rui will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rui
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Keylor#2641 · Ely#2641 · Daelyn#2641 · Judge#2641 · Kato#2641 · Herbert#2641 · Giacomo#2641 · Kaycee#2641
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rui? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rui and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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