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Russel

Gender
Boy
Say it
RUS-el
Origin
French
UK rank, 2025
#5,065 for boys
US rank, 2025
#3,948 for boys

Russel is a boys' name of French origin, meaning “little red one”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 3,948th for boys in the US (27 babies).

What does Russel mean?

French: spelling of Russell; English surname from Norman French rousel

“little red one”

From a Norman nickname for someone with red hair; the Russells, Dukes of Bedford, made it a famous English surname.

Meaning borrowed from Russell. More on Wiktionary.

Is Russel a girl's or a boy's name?

Russel is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK and 27 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Russel in the UK?

Rank in 2025
5,065th among boys
Babies in 2025
3 about 1 in 100,000 boys
Five-year trend
Too rare to call too few babies to tell
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Russel, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,143rd. Its busiest year was 1999, with 5 boys.

2025 had more boys named Russel than any year since 2011.

In 2025, 40 boys in the UK were given Russel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #781, up from #5,065 for this spelling alone.

Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.

1997Busiest: 5 in 19992025
Russel in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
20253#5,065
20240–
20230–
20220–
20210–
20201#6,143
20190–
20180–
20170–
20160–
20150–
20140–
20130–
20120–
20113#4,837
20103#4,865
20090–
20084#3,836
20075#3,231
20064#3,522
20050–
20043#3,792
20033#3,593
20025#2,358
20013#3,255
20000–
19995#2,184
19981#3,884
19974#2,438

How popular is Russel in the US?

Rank in 2025
3,948th among boys
Babies in 2025
27 about 1 in 63,000 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 27% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 27 boys in the US were named Russel, making it the 3,948th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,731st. Its busiest year was 1920, with 389 boys.

2025 had more boys named Russel than any year since 2020.

Half of all the boys named Russel in the US since 1880 were born between 1923 and 1965, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 971 boys in the US were given Russel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #348, up from #3,948 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 389 in 19202025
Russel in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
202527#3,948
202423#4,430
202314#6,215
202222#4,566
202125#4,114
202028#3,731
201930#3,633
201830#3,603
201730#3,582
201620#4,775
201520#4,709
201418#5,062
201327#3,751
201227#3,804
201120#4,657
201039#2,957
200931#3,474
200830#3,558
200729#3,589
200640#2,831
200535#2,956
200433#3,010
200337#2,670
200247#2,220
200137#2,557
200036#2,573
199929#2,861
199849#1,954
199745#1,988
199648#1,868
199553#1,677
199460#1,539
199354#1,633
199256#1,567
199175#1,291
199081#1,211
198988#1,126
198864#1,282
198785#1,029
198681#1,027
198573#1,082
198497#884
198382#972
1982117#819
1981107#851
1980120#800
1979101#864
197894#886
197786#913
197698#844
1975126#741
1974101#796
1973130#704
1972113#746
1971176#623
1970143#692
1969167#606
1968162#595
1967154#601
1966142#621
1965151#620
1964148#640
1963195#566
1962201#556
1961191#568
1960218#537
1959194#556
1958175#584
1957199#546
1956206#521
1955186#544
1954168#565
1953159#565
1952175#528
1951181#501
1950159#541
1949177#495
1948201#472
1947202#473
1946183#475
1945177#447
1944166#472
1943172#472
1942160#484
1941151#478
1940152#468
1939141#479
1938170#440
1937183#419
1936174#422
1935167#435
1934175#423
1933199#384
1932215#383
1931186#414
1930225#379
1929259#349
1928281#335
1927305#326
1926329#312
1925340#309
1924327#320
1923349#302
1922325#318
1921384#286
1920389#283
1919318#310
1918305#326
1917305#303
1916274#315
1915305#284
1914216#308
1913196#282
1912142#302
191170#323
191050#362
190939#388
190841#355
190738#359
190638#335
190529#393
190429#379
190333#330
190231#355
190128#347
190046#307
189927#346
189829#360
189720#422
189626#380
189518#476
189426#358
189319#419
189220#422
189122#364
189015#489
188911#581
188812#580
18878#679
18869#647
18855#935
18845#971
18830–
18825#942
188110#563
18808#682

Nicknames for Russel

Names like Russel

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Robert, William, Harry, Thomas, Lewis, Joseph, James, Leon, Harvey, Billy, Arthur, Charles

Other spellings of Russel

Russell

More French names

Eleanor, Beau, Esme, Darcie, Darcy, Genevieve, Amy, Esmae, Arleth, Elle, Monty, Mallory, Percy, Lacey, Belle, Quincy

Every French name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Russel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/russel, updated 20 October 2026.