Rutger vs Ruthanne
American parents have registered 2,685 Ruthannes since 1880, against 274 Rutgers. Ruthanne is still ahead, with 18 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Rutger Ruthanne
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 108 years in which either name was published, Ruthanne for 104 years and Rutger for 4 years. The lead changed hands 4 times.
Side by side
| Rutger | Ruthanne | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 274 | 2,685 |
| Most in one year | 23 | 90 |
| Babies in 2025 | 5 | 18 |
| Estimated living today | 270 | 2,000 |
| Median age today | 28 | 58 |
| Peak year | 1993 | 1946 |
| Best rank | 2,943rd boys | 874th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 12,008th | 6,325th |
| First recorded | 1987 | 1918 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 274 | 2,685 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Ruthannes alive today are over 58; half the Rutgers are over 28. That is 30 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Rutger and Ruthanne.