Bodil vs Ruth
Bodil and Ruthcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Girls
In 1999, Bodil was ranked #545 and Ruth #213 among girls in Norway.
Bodil and Ruth over time
Bodil and Ruth appear together in 1 published list, across 53 years of shared records. Bodil held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Ruth in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Closest over the longest run
Across 53 shared years in Norway · Girls, Bodil and Ruth averaged 56.5 places apart, ending at #545 and #213.
- Longest-running competitions
Bodil and Ruth were both ranked in Norway · Girls for 53 years, from 1945 to 1999, ending at #545 and #213.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Norway · Girls within 2 years — Bodil #36 in 1945, Ruth #35 in 1945.
- Started together, ended far apart
In 1945 they stood at #36 and #35 in Norway · Girls, 1 places apart; by 1999 they were #545 and #213.
List by list
Norway · Girls53 shared years, 1945–1999
Bodil held the stronger position in 31 of those years, Ruth in 22.
Highest recorded here: Bodil #36 in 1945, Ruth #35 in 1945.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 1999: Bodil #545, Ruth #213.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Bodil | Ruth |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | female | female |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Commonly interpreted as '(female) friend' or 'companion', probably a contraction of Hebrew re'ut. |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Biblical Hebrew |
| Pronunciation | /ˈruːθ/ | |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Girls #545 (1999) | Republic of Ireland · Girls #247 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 94/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Ruth has a recorded origin (Biblical Hebrew); Bodil does not have one recorded yet.
- Bodil has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Ruth.
- A meaning is recorded for Ruth; Bodil doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Bodil
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #36 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–1999
Highest recorded position: #36 among girls in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–1999).
Norway · Girls
Most recent1999
Most recently recorded at #545 among girls in Norway, in 1999.
Norway · Girls
Ruth
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #35 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #35 among girls in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #299 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls