Of Hebrew origin.
From the Hebrew word “רְעוּת” (re’ut), meaning “friend”.
According to the Old Testament’s “Book of Ruth”, Ruth was a woman of great kindness. After her husband died, Ruth accompanied Naomi, her mother-in-law, to Bethlehem.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, Ruth is the wife of Boaz, therefore part of Jesus’ genealogy.
In the Hebrew Bible Ruth is an ancestor of King David.
Other forms of the name are Ruthie, Rut, Rute, Ruf, Ruthven.
Ruth was in the U.S.A. top-10 popularity lists from 1900 to 1930 and was ranked #299 in 2016.
Famous bearers are Ruth Wilson, Ruth Brown, Ruth Pointer, Ruth Westheimer, Ruth Draper, Ruth Rendell, Ruth Negga, Ruth Jones, Ruth Langsford.