NameCensus.

UK name, mostly girls

Rue

A French feminine name referring to a small street or path.

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Also recorded as a boys' name in the UK, with 91 boys.

Rue is mostly registered for girls in the UK records. People looking for Rue popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #558, with 70 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 70 births.

This profile covers 258 England and Wales registrations across 12 recorded years from 2013 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

Rue is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 286 living people in the UK are called Rue. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Rue ranked #558 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 70 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2024, when 70 girls were registered as Rue.
  • Rue ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #333 in 2024.
  • Rue is also recorded for boys, but the girls side is the larger UK variant in these records.
  • About 286 living people in the UK are estimated to have Rue as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
  • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 73.9% of Rue registrations are for girls.

Latest rank (E&W)

#558

2024

Births in 2024

70

Latest year

Peak year

2024

70 births

Estimated living

286

2026

Gender

Boy and girl registrations for Rue

In England and Wales birth records, Rue has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 26.1% of registrations are for boys and 73.9% are for girls.

These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.

26% boys
74% girls
Boys91 (26.1%)Girls258 (73.9%)

Rue registered for boys

  • Ranked #1,235 in 2024
  • 22 boys registered in 2024
  • Peak: 2023 (24 births)

Rue registered for girls

  • Ranked #558 in 2024
  • 70 girls registered in 2024
  • Peak: 2024 (70 births)

Meaning

What does Rue mean?

The name Rue is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "rue," which means "street" or "road." This name likely emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, when many French surnames were based on occupations, locations, or other descriptive terms.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rue can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland," which mentions a character named Rue. In this context, the name may have referred to someone who lived or worked on a particular street or road.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rue. One of the earliest was Rue de la Roche (c. 1280 - c. 1350), a French knight and nobleman who served under King Philip VI of France during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War.

Another prominent figure was Rue Brittain (1492 - 1556), an English Protestant reformer and writer who was persecuted for his religious beliefs during the reign of Queen Mary I. He is best known for his work "A Treatise of the Blessed Body and Blood of Christ," published in 1556.

In the 17th century, Rue de Montreuil (1611 - 1688) was a French botanist and horticulturist known for his work in cultivating and describing plants. He was a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences and served as the superintendent of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.

In the 19th century, Rue Pugh (1826 - 1905) was an American Civil War veteran who served as a private in the Union Army's 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was present at several major battles, including Shiloh and Stones River.

More recently, Rue McClanahan (1934 - 2010) was an American actress best known for her role as Blanche Devereaux on the popular sitcom "The Golden Girls." She had a long and successful career in television, film, and theater, earning an Emmy Award and multiple nominations.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Rue over time

The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Rue in England and Wales, from 2013 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Rue, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 70 births in 2024, compared with 70 at the peak.

Babies born per year

BoysGirls
023466992201320182024

Decades

Rue by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Rue was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #1122 196 5
2010s #3109 62 7

Geography

Where Rue is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Rue. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Rue ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #333 in 2024.

Scotland
10

Across the UK

Rue in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#333 in 2024

5 years of NRS records, 29 total registered

Related

Names similar to Rue

FAQ

Rue: questions and answers

How popular is the name Rue in the UK right now?

In 2024, Rue was ranked #558 for girls in England and Wales, with 70 births registered.

When was Rue most popular?

The peak year on record was 2024, with 70 babies registered as Rue in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Rue?

A French feminine name referring to a small street or path.

How many people are called Rue in the UK?

A total of 258 babies have been registered as Rue across the 12 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 29 more in Scotland.

Where is Rue most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Rue ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #333 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.