Russell
Feminine · “little red one”
Russell is given to boys far more often — 359,780 boys against 1,696 girls since 1880. See Russell as a boy name
The philosopher who carried this name went to prison twice, forty-three years apart. The first time was in 1918, for an article about the war that the authorities read as an attack on the alliance; the second was in 1961, when he was eighty-nine, for refusing to be bound over after a sit-down protest against nuclear weapons.
How old is the name Russell?
Russell first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Russell alive today was born around 1952, making them about 73 years old. About 1,000 people named Russell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Russell most popular?
Russell peaked in 1898, reaching #1171 nationally. See the whole 1898 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From rous to Russell
The story of Russell
The word underneath it is still in English, attached to apples and to autumn coats. Russet comes from the same Old French root — rous, meaning red or reddish-brown — by the same diminutive ending, so a russet apple and a person called Russell are carrying the identical word with the identical suffix, one describing fruit and the other describing hair. The language kept both and stopped noticing they were related, which is the usual fate of a word that goes into a name.
Meaning
little red one
From an Old French nickname about hair or complexion, with a diminutive ending. The sense is not disputed, and the name reached English as a surname before it was ever a given name.
How the name formed
- rous
- Rousel
- Russell
Related forms: Roussel
Pronouncing Russell
RUSS-ul
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second reduces to almost nothing, which is why the doubled l is never heard.
Nicknames for Russell
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
- 1892
- Most girls named
- 192832 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1171reached in 1898
- Change vs 1993
- −9.1%10 in 2004, from 11
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.
Russell in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Roussel in French — same name
Russells among us
people named Russell are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Russell sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has been in continuous English use for centuries without ever going strange.
- Russ sits inside it as a completely established short form.
- The meaning is concrete and easy to explain.
- It is firmly associated with an older generation.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
- The meaning describes an appearance the child may not have.
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What they receive
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Russell
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Russells 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 Russell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Russell in 2025?
- Russell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Russell with classmates?
- Russell will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Russell? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Russell and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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