How rare is the name Russel?

10,399 people in the United States have the first name Russel, about 1 in 29,044. It ranks #2,397 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

RUSSEL

#2,397

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
10,399
About
1 in 29,044
This common or more
79.6%
Who bears it

Of the 10,399 people named Russel, 80% reported their origin as White, 6.6% as Black and 5.6% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 98.9% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Russel peaked in 1920, when 394 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1920
Births that year
394
In 2025*
27 ▼93%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 16,622 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Russel by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1920s, when it ranked #680. The largest share of babies named Russel, 31.6%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#1,47873
1890s#1,009222
1900s#939352
1910s#6832,181
1920s#6803,300
1930s#8831,835
1940s#1,0371,741
1950s#1,2431,802
1960s#1,3441,729
1970s#1,8031,168
1980s#2,302914
1990s#4,003550
2000s#6,769355
2010s#8,797261
2020s#9,353139
Before 19012.1%
Greatest Generation 1901–2731.6%
Silent Generation 1928–4520.2%
Baby boom 1946–6421.2%
Generation X 1965–8012.4%
Millennials 1981–967.3%
Generation Z 1997–123.4%
2013 and later1.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Russel is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Russel has been most common in Pennsylvania (3×), West Virginia (2.6×), and Louisiana (2.4×), and least common in Florida (0.11×).

10,718 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Russel

#2,395 Lesa · 10,440#2,396 Lakeisha · 10,409#2,398 Kiran · 10,388#2,399 Norberto · 10,382

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Russel, most common first.

#271 Russell · 202,735

Also a last name

As a last name, Russel ranks #9,211 of 156,621, with 3,400 people. See Russel as a last name

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