ninan.org

Russell

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~213,400 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#345 among boys
Births in 2025
944 361,476 since 1880
Typical age
59 years, median

Russell popularity over time

Russell rank by birth year, 1880–2025Russell ranked #196 in 1880 and #345 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #48, in 1904.#100#345best #48 in 190418901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Russell in 1960 than in any other year — 7,510 of them. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. It has held a top-100 place in 94 separate years.

In 2025 it ranked #345 with 944 births. The ten-year change is +23%. Year on year the rank improved by 22.

Babies named Russell per yearPeaks at 7,510 births in 1960.7,510 in 1960018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Russell?

About 213,400 people named Russell are alive in the United States today. That is out of 361,476 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Russell?

The typical living Russell is 59 years old. The 1960s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Russell a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Russell

Ages of living people named RussellHalf of living Russells are older than 59 and half younger.median 59020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Russell is most common

Russell is 3.2× as common in Idaho as it is nationally. Utah, North Dakota and Oregon follow.

Where Russell is used more than average5 states use the name Russell more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: 3.2× the national rateIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: 2.4× the national rateNDMinnesota: 2.1× the national rateMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: 2.1× the national rateORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 3.1× the national rateUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Russell is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Idaho 113 3.2×
Utah 273 3.1×
North Dakota 38 2.4×
Oregon 153 2.1×
Minnesota 244 2.1×

Russell in England and Wales

ONS recorded 32 births named Russell in 2025, ranking it #953. That is 39% higher than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Russell comes from

Inherited from Middle English Russel, from Anglo-Norman Russel. Doublet of Rousseau/Roussel. Equivalent to russel.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Russell

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Russell Crowe New Zealand actor 1964 125
Russell Alan Hulse American astronomer 1950 68
Russell Westbrook American basketball player 1988 55
Russell Brand English comedian, actor, and podcaster 1975 49
Russell Tovey British actor 1981 34
Russell Means Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native American people 1939–2012 33
Russell Peters Canadian comedian, actor 1970 31
Russell Kirk American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and writer 1918–1994 29
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 779 in 1911 to 1,462 in 1912 — 1.9 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/russell.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).