boy's name
Russell
RUSS-ul
- Origin Norman
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 367,381
the United States
#346
2025 births
Russell is a boy's name from a Norman nickname meaning little red, given to someone red-haired or ruddy. Our data marks it reviving, and it now ranks 346th in the United States on 944 births.
- Russell is a name of Norman origin.
- Peaked in 1960, when 7,510 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 3,512 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Russell over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,023 |
| 1890s | 2,799 |
| 1900s | 4,588 |
| 1910s | 24,984 |
| 1920s | 37,472 |
| 1930s | 29,005 |
| 1940s | 41,496 |
| 1950s | 62,589 |
| 1960s | 60,687 |
| 1970s | 35,695 |
| 1980s | 26,866 |
| 1990s | 13,776 |
| 2000s | 7,802 |
| 2010s | 7,409 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,285 |
What Russell means
Russell means little red, or reddish. The Norman French diminutive describes hair or complexion, so the name began as a physical nickname rather than a family or place name.
Where Russell comes from
Russell is from the Old French rousel, a diminutive of rous, red — the same root as the English russet and the French roux. It was a nickname for a red-haired or ruddy man, and became a hereditary surname in England after the Conquest. The Russells rose to become Dukes of Bedford and one of the great Whig families; Bertrand Russell, the philosopher and mathematician who spent time in prison for opposing the First World War and won the Nobel Prize in Literature, is its most consequential bearer. Its use as a given name is nineteenth-century and predominantly American.
Russell in use
Russell peaked in the United States in 1960, when 7,510 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It now ranks 346th in the United States on 944 births, 767th in Scotland and 956th in England and Wales, across 367,381 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. It is one of the more recent peaks among the reviving group, most of which peaked between 1918 and 1946.
How popular is Russell?
In 2025, Russell was given to 944 babies in the United States, ranking #346 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Russell is used
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 Russell
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Russell also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Russell over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Russell
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Russell in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Russel
Sibling names for Russell
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Russell — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Russell
What does the name Russell mean?
Little red — a Norman nickname for a red-haired man, from the Old French rousel.
Is Russell related to russet?
Yes, both come from the Old French rous, red.
Is Russell coming back?
Our data marks it reviving. It ranks 346th in the United States.
How popular is Russell?
346th in the United States on 944 births.
Is Russell a girl's or a boy's name?
Russell is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Russell?
Russell has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Russell?
Russell is usually shortened to Russ and Rusty.
Is Russell a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Russell currently ranks #346 in the United States. After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.