Rutherford
Masculine
Rutherford is a Scottish surname used as a first name, and it belongs to the physicist who found the atomic nucleus. He was also, on the record and in print, completely wrong about what would come of it.
How old is the name Rutherford?
Rutherford was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Rutherford alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 200 people named Rutherford are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rutherford most popular?
Rutherford peaked in 1880, reaching #682 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford worked out that an atom is mostly empty space with a tiny dense nucleus, by firing particles at gold foil and finding that a few came straight back, which he compared to a shell bouncing off tissue paper. He went on to achieve the first deliberate transmutation of one element into another. Asked about practical applications, he said publicly that anybody talking about getting useful power from atoms was talking moonshine. A Hungarian physicist read the report of that speech the following morning, was annoyed by it, and worked out the idea of a chain reaction while crossing a London street the same day.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The surname is generally traced to a place name involving a ford, and the first element is argued over. Whether an American Rutherford comes from the surname or from a place is not recorded.
Pronouncing Rutherford
RUTH-ur-furd
Three syllables with the stress in front. Nothing in it invites hesitation.
Nicknames for Rutherford
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
- 192125 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #682reached in 1880
- Change vs 2021
- 0.0%11 in 2023, 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.
Rutherfords among us
people named Rutherford 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
Rutherford 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
- Ford comes off the back of it as a short form and is established in its own right.
- It is read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- It carries a documented scientific history a child can go and read about.
- Three syllables and ten letters make it a long name on a form.
- It reads as a surname to nearly everybody, which suits some families and not others.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled behind it.
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Rutherford
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Rutherfords are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Rutherford are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rutherford in 2025?
- Rutherford is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Rutherford with classmates?
- Rutherford will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rutherford? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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