Ruadh
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ROO-a
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,964 for boys
Big in Northern Ireland
Ruadh is a boys' name of Scottish origin, meaning “red, red-haired”. In 2025 it ranked 1,964th for boys in the UK (13 babies).
What does Ruadh mean?
Scottish: Scottish Gaelic and older Irish spelling
“red, red-haired”
Rob Roy MacGregor's nickname came from the Gaelic Raibeart Ruadh, 'red Robert', after his red hair.
Is Ruadh a girl's or a boy's name?
Ruadh is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 girls and 13 boys in the UK.
How popular is Ruadh in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,964among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 13about 1 in 23,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Newly popularnew in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 13 boys in the UK were named Ruadh, making it the 1,964th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,082nd. 3 girls were also named Ruadh in 2025 (5,990th for girls).
2025 had the most boys named Ruadh of any year since it first appeared, in 2012.
In 2025, 18 boys in the UK were given Ruadh or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,326, up from #1,964 for this spelling alone.
- Ruadh 13
- Rua 5
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales, 495th in Scotland and 344th in Northern Ireland.
Ruadh in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #1,964 |
| 2024 | 9 | #2,515 |
| 2023 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2022 | 4 | #4,195 |
| 2021 | 2 | #6,291 |
| 2020 | 2 | #6,082 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 2 | #6,340 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 1 | #6,332 |
Names like Ruadh
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ronan Brody Muhammad Musa Rowan Amir Rian Umar Khalid Zayd Rafi Yahya
Other spellings of Ruadh
More Scottish names
Isla Finley Logan Arabella Cameron Bonnie Paisley Carson Maxwell Brodie Finlay Blair Lennox Skye Knox Dallas
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ruadh: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ruadh, updated 20 October 2026.