This page is historical. Follow this link for the current version.
Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources
☙

Ruth f. Hebrew רות, of uncertain meaning.

The name of an eponymous Biblical character. Wycliffite Bible (1395): Ruth.

Withycombe s.n. Ruth says that the earliest English example is from 1598, but in fact the name can be found in England prior to that. It, like other Old Testament names, came into use in the second half of the 16th C.

England
Early Modern English
● 1587 Ruth OrpingtonKe p. 8; 1591 Ruth bruton-vol1 p. 50; 1597 Ruth StAnthonlin p. 38
Cite as: S.L. Uckelman. "Ruth". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2018, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2018/1/name/Ruth.