Name Awesome

Rui

#2,672 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Rui has been given to 972 babies in the U.S. since 1967. In 2025 it ranked #2,672 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2024, with 62 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 91% boys, 9% girls all-time.

Babies named Rui, 2025

1 in 67,700

Rui over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Rui over time

In 2025, Rui went to 17% girls and 83% boys.

19672025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Rui: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Japanese and Portuguese

What Rui means

Rui has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

Origin, language, and formation

Rui is used in English and Portuguese. Its origins include Japanese and Portuguese.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Roderick.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Portuguese, Rui is pronounced /ˈʁuj/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 887 boys were recorded with the name Rui between 1967 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 62 in 2024; its best national rank was #2,104 in 1971.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #3,634 in 2020 to #2,672 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #5,018 in 2015 to #2,672 in 2025.

In the United States, 85 girls were recorded with the name Rui between 2006 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 12 in 2022; its best national rank was #8,950 in 2022.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,212 in 2020 to #9,978 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Rui?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 67,700
49 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 34,900
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,672
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
46,897 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Rui sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 46,897 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rui. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ruis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rui was born before 2009 — so the typical Rui is around 16 today.

Median birth year
2009
About 16 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
29.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
62.7%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
887
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 29.8% of all recorded uses (264).

Is Rui rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−365
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+962
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,346
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
2.58×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
79.0%
Peak was 2024 (62)
Years since peak
1
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
36.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,104
1971

Where Rui is used

Across 1910–2025, Rui was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 287,824 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Massachusetts1 in 100,000
  3. 3New Jersey1 in 100,000
  4. 4Connecticut1 in —
  5. 5New York1 in —
  6. 6Texas1 in —
  7. 7Washington1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Rui has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Rui around the world

Where Rui ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2025
    #1,466
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2004–2024
    #727
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    2007–2019
    #764
    in 2019
  • France
    1963–2025
    #5,255
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1994–2024
    #1,817
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1987–2012
    #771
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Rui by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,672
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 962
Best rank ever
#2,104
1971
Peak year
2024
62 that year
First recorded
1967
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
887
Count in 2025
49

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#9,978
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 3,234
Best rank ever
#8,950
2022
Peak year
2022
12 that year
First recorded
2006
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
85
Count in 2025
10

Names similar to Rui

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

RuizeRuizRuilinJiaruiZiruiRuichenKemarui

Sibling names for Rui

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Rui

Top names of 2024, Rui's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1971Boys' names starting with RPortuguese Boy Names