unisex name

Rue

  • Gender Unisex
  • Syllables 1
  • Letters 3
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 2,396

Scotland

#343

2024 births

Rue is a unisex name with 1 syllable. It is given to both girls and boys — about 82% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 179 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Peaked in 2024, when 205 babies were given the name.
  • It has been rising over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 18,522 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1896.
  • 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.

Rue over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

990
'90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Rue by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1890s 10
1900s 18
1910s 99
1920s 132
1930s 116
1940s 76
1950s 108
1960s 18
1970s 11
2010s 306
2020s (to 2025) 990

How popular is Rue?

In 2025, Rue was given to 179 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Rue is used

Scotland #343 10 in 2024
England & Wales #740 68 in 2025
Ireland #819 4 in 2025
United States #1,323 179 in 2025
Canada #1,791 13 in 2024

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Rue

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Rue also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rue over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Rue

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rue — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Rue

How popular is the name Rue?

In 2025, Rue was given to 179 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Rue a girl's or a boy's name?

Rue is used for both girls and boys. About 82% of recorded births with this name are girls.

How many syllables are in Rue?

Rue has 1 syllable.

When was Rue most popular?

Rue peaked in 2024, when 205 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.

Is Rue a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rue currently ranks #343 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.