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 bruton1 p. 50; 1597 Ruth StAnthonlin p. 38