MEANING & HISTORY
What does Ruth mean?
Ruth comes from the Hebrew name of the Moabite woman in the biblical Book of Ruth. Companionship or friendship is a traditional proposed explanation, but the ancient derivation is not certain.
English-speaking Puritans also associated the name with the separate English noun ruth, compassion. That later association enriches its history without proving the Hebrew root. Its biblical namesake is the firmest historical anchor.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Ruth the Moabite, Hebrew רות, of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "companion". Also associated with the English noun ruth (“compassion”) by Puritans.
A female given name from Hebrew.
SpanishEtymology & source
An etymological spelling under the influence of English Ruth.
a female given name, equivalent to English Ruth
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Ruth
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Ruth Mariano-Hernandez
member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Laguna's 2nd District (born 1974)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
6
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
2
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Ruth Mariano-Hernandez, Ruth Cabal
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Ruth in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Ruth
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Ruby♀The red gemstone ruby
- Rudy♂Familiar form of Rudolf
- Ruel♂One documented familiar form of Reuel, friend of God
- Rufa♀Red or ruddy, in the Rufus name family
- Rufo·Red or reddish
- Ruy♂Medieval short form of Rodrigo
- Ruben♂See, a son
- Rubén♂Behold, a son
What rhymes with Ruth?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Recorded combinations with Ruth
3 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Emma Ruth·Whole-name Emma with the biblical Ruth tradition
- Mary Ruth·Mary: English Maria and Miriam form; Ruth: Probably female friend in the Hebrew account
- Ruth Marie·Ruth: Hebrew name probably connected with female friend; Marie: French and Czech Maria form, ultimately Miryam with disputed root
Explore Ruth further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q18014868 — Ruth (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Ruth Mariano-Hernandez (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q18014868 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Ruth Cabal (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q18014868 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ruth (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ruth (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Ruth (opens in a new tab)
Name formation and linguistic history; consulted existing imported etymology.