Rut
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name of biblical origin. From Hebrew רות.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Rut (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Rut has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2022. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | 11 |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | 13 |
| 2003 | 23 |
| 2004 | 18 |
| 2005 | 35 |
| 2006 | 27 |
| 2007 | 40 |
| 2008 | 66 |
| 2009 | 82 |
| 2010 | 78 |
| 2011 | 76 |
| 2012 | 68 |
| 2013 | 83 |
| 2014 | 94 |
| 2015 | 100 |
| 2016 | 117 |
| 2017 | 119 |
| 2018 | 121 |
| 2019 | 111 |
| 2020 | 129 |
| 2021 | 121 |
| 2022 | 153 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 24,650 |
| 2000 | 23,409 |
| 2001 | 22,161 |
| 2002 | 20,962 |
| 2003 | 19,776 |
| 2004 | 18,661 |
| 2005 | 17,605 |
| 2006 | 16,497 |
| 2007 | 15,553 |
| 2008 | 14,704 |
| 2009 | 13,938 |
| 2010 | 13,140 |
| 2011 | 12,388 |
| 2012 | 11,606 |
| 2013 | 10,956 |
| 2014 | 10,324 |
| 2015 | 9,713 |
| 2016 | 9,160 |
| 2017 | 8,609 |
| 2018 | 8,121 |
| 2019 | 7,695 |
| 2020 | 7,245 |
Rut in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Rut.Hi! My name is Rut.
- Har du träffat Rut? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Rut? She started working here on Monday.
- Vet du om Rut kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Rut is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Ruts mamma är lärare.Rut's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Ruts mamma is Rut's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Rut
How do you pronounce Rut in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Rut from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Rut mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name of biblical origin. From Hebrew רות.
How popular is Rut in Sweden?
153 babies were named Rut in 2022. In 2020, 7,245 people in Sweden had Rut as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2022 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.