From Hebrew, possibly meaning 'friend' or 'companion'; the devoted daughter-in-law in the Bible.
Ruth is an ancient biblical name, best known from the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible. Its exact etymology is debated, but it is commonly connected with a Hebrew word conveying the ideas of friendship, companionness, or compassionate presence. That meaning suits the biblical Ruth perfectly: she is remembered not for conquest or grandeur, but for loyalty, tenderness, and steadfast devotion.
Her famous declaration to Naomi, promising to stay with her and share her people and faith, made Ruth one of the great scriptural figures of fidelity. Because of that story, Ruth has carried unusual moral weight in Jewish and Christian traditions for centuries. It has been used across Europe and North America as a name of simplicity, virtue, and quiet strength.
Among its notable bearers are the baseball legend Babe Ruth, whose surname gave the name a different public resonance, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose life lent the name a modern association with intellect, justice, and principled resolve. In literature and public memory, Ruth often feels unadorned yet emotionally rich. The name was especially popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when biblical names were a mainstay of English-speaking families.
For a time it came to seem austere or grandmotherly, but that perception has softened as older names have returned to fashion. Today Ruth feels concise, serious, and luminous rather than dated. It belongs to the same revived family as Esther, Ada, and Mabel: names with old souls and clear outlines.
Its power lies in restraint. Ruth is brief, but it carries centuries of story, faith, and moral imagination.