First Name
355k
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
222k
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
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On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named Russell
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name Russell
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Russells Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce Russell

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Russell mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Russell

User Submitted Meanings

  • A submission from North Carolina, United States says the name Russell means "Red Haired" and is of Unknown origin.
Other origins: English

Submit the origin and/or meaning of Russell to us below

Other Dictionary Sources
  1. English philosopher and mathematician who collaborated with Whitehead (1872-1970)
    Synonyms: bertrand arthur william russell, bertrand russell, and earl russell
  2. Irish writer whose pen name was A.E. (1867-1935)
    Synonyms: a.e. and george william russell
  3. United States astronomer who developed a theory of stellar evolution (1877-1957)
    Synonyms: henry norris russell and henry russell
  4. United States entertainer remembered for her roles in comic operas (1861-1922)
    Synonyms: lillian russell
  5. United States basketball center (born in 1934)
    Synonyms: bill russell and william felton russell
  6. English film director (born in 1927)
    Synonyms: henry kenneth alfred russell and ken russell
  7. United States religious leader who founded the sect that is now called Jehovah's Witnesses (1852-1916)
    Synonyms: charles taze russell
Wiktionary

From Anglo-Norman

  1. An English, Scottish and Irish surname​ from the Norman nickname for someone with red hair.
  2. A male given name, transferred from the surname. Diminutive: Russ.
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Notable Persons Named Russell

Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is a basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association. He was most prominent from 2008 to present. Russell was born on November 12th, 1988 in Long Beach, California.

Popularity:
Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe is an actor, producer, musician, and director. He was most active from 1985 to present. Russell was given the name Russell Ira Crowe on April 7th, 1964 in Strathmore Park.

Popularity:
Russell Brand

Russell was given the name Russell Edward Brand on June 4th, 1975 in Grays.

Popularity:
Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson is a football player for the Seattle Seahawks. He was most prominent from 2012 to present. Russell was born on November 29th, 1988 in Cincinnati.

Popularity:
Ol' Dirty Bastard

Ol' Dirty Bastard was a hip hop music rapping. His most notable accomplishments were from 1989 to 2004. Ol' was given the name Russell Tyrone Jones on November 15th, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Ol' is also known as ODB, BZA, Ason Unique, Osirus, The Specialist, Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus, Young Dirty, Ol' Dirty Blocks, Dirt Dog, RJ Tha Mad Specialist, Ol' Dirty Chinese Restaurant, and Joe Bananas. He passed away on November 13th, 2004.

Popularity:
Russell Peters

Russell Peters is a satire, observational comedy, improvisational theatre, and black comedy comedian. Russell was given the name Russell Dominic Peters on September 29th, 1970 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

Popularity:
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Notable Persons With the Last Name Russell

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell is an actor. His ongoing career started in 1962. Kurt was given the name Kurt Vogel Russell by his parent Bing Russell on March 17th, 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.

Popularity:
Keri Russell

Keri Russell is an actress and dancer. Her most notable accomplishments were from 1991 to present. Keri was given the name Keri Lynn Russell on March 23rd, 1976 in Fountain Valley, California, U.S.

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Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell was a philosopher. Bertrand was born on May 18th, 1872 in Trellech, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom. He died on February 2nd, 1970.

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Wyatt Russell

Wyatt Russell is an actor and hockey player. He was most prominent from 1996 to present. Wyatt was given the name Wyatt Hawn Russell by his parents Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn on July 10th, 1986 in Los Angeles.

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Bill Russell

Bill Russell is a basketball player for the Boston Celtics. His most notable accomplishments were from 1956 to 1969. Bill was born on February 12th, 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana.

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Chumlee

Chumlee is a businessman and tv personality. He has had major accomplishments since 2003. Chumlee was given the name Austin Russell on September 8th, 1982. Chumlee is also known as Russell and Austin.

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How popular is the baby name Russell in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born Ranking
1880 62 0 62
1881 65 0 65
1882 73 0 73
1883 67 0 67
1884 107 0 107
1885 94 0 94
1886 115 0 115
1887 96 0 96
1888 146 0 146
1889 198 0 198 #89 boy name
1890 182 0 182 #94 boy name
1891 186 0 186 #86 boy name
1892 274 5 269 #75 boy name
1893 246 0 246 #75 boy name
1894 278 0 278 #72 boy name
1895 300 0 300 #66 boy name
1896 327 0 327 #64 boy name
1897 295 0 295 #64 boy name
1898 368 9 359 #61 boy name
1899 343 5 338 #56 boy name
1900 427 0 427 #62 boy name
1901 402 7 395 #50 boy name
1902 422 0 422 #53 boy name
1903 390 0 390 #56 boy name
1904 478 5 473 #48 boy name
1905 438 6 432 #57 boy name
1906 465 6 459 #53 boy name
1907 503 0 503 #57 boy name
1908 528 5 523 #56 boy name
1909 535 7 528 #58 boy name
1910 615 0 615 #58 boy name
1911 779 9 770 #55 boy name
1912 1,462 13 1,449 #56 boy name
1913 1,958 12 1,946 #50 boy name
1914 2,580 12 2,568 #49 boy name
1915 3,260 10 3,250 #51 boy name
1916 3,353 23 3,330 #51 boy name
1917 3,460 24 3,436 #52 boy name
1918 3,851 18 3,833 #50 boy name
1919 3,667 21 3,646 #50 boy name
1920 3,934 33 3,901 #51 boy name
1921 3,975 29 3,946 #52 boy name
1922 3,994 28 3,966 #49 boy name
1923 3,828 23 3,805 #52 boy name
1924 3,970 23 3,947 #52 boy name
1925 3,820 18 3,802 #53 boy name
1926 3,822 28 3,794 #52 boy name
1927 3,563 23 3,540 #54 boy name
1928 3,358 32 3,326 #55 boy name
1929 3,211 27 3,184 #56 boy name
1930 3,127 27 3,100 #60 boy name
1931 2,966 22 2,944 #63 boy name
1932 3,039 17 3,022 #63 boy name
1933 2,709 14 2,695 #67 boy name
1934 2,753 20 2,733 #70 boy name
1935 2,845 14 2,831 #68 boy name
1936 2,847 15 2,832 #69 boy name
1937 2,911 15 2,896 #67 boy name
1938 2,959 11 2,948 #70 boy name
1939 2,840 10 2,830 #73 boy name
1940 3,024 13 3,011 #72 boy name
1941 3,048 16 3,032 #75 boy name
1942 3,688 15 3,673 #70 boy name
1943 3,768 16 3,752 #73 boy name
1944 3,941 11 3,930 #63 boy name
1945 3,816 14 3,802 #64 boy name
1946 4,758 18 4,740 #66 boy name
1947 5,288 20 5,268 #69 boy name
1948 5,133 22 5,111 #67 boy name
1949 5,022 15 5,007 #69 boy name
1950 4,961 18 4,943 #67 boy name
1951 5,190 13 5,177 #73 boy name
1952 5,368 19 5,349 #70 boy name
1953 5,394 16 5,378 #71 boy name
1954 5,777 16 5,761 #69 boy name
1955 6,548 15 6,533 #57 boy name
1956 7,421 18 7,403 #52 boy name
1957 7,243 23 7,220 #54 boy name
1958 7,164 21 7,143 #54 boy name
1959 7,502 24 7,478 #55 boy name
1960 7,500 23 7,477 #56 boy name
1961 7,369 31 7,338 #55 boy name
1962 7,064 24 7,040 #57 boy name
1963 6,730 24 6,706 #57 boy name
1964 6,265 25 6,240 #58 boy name
1965 5,666 17 5,649 #58 boy name
1966 4,884 23 4,861 #61 boy name
1967 4,909 21 4,888 #58 boy name
1968 5,124 26 5,098 #56 boy name
1969 5,186 26 5,160 #57 boy name
1970 5,142 26 5,116 #58 boy name
1971 4,565 26 4,539 #64 boy name
1972 3,808 24 3,784 #69 boy name
1973 3,423 24 3,399 #77 boy name
1974 3,184 12 3,172 #83 boy name
1975 3,255 22 3,233 #82 boy name
1976 3,008 12 2,996 #87 boy name
1977 3,152 27 3,125 #89 boy name
1978 3,012 28 2,984 #93 boy name
1979 3,157 25 3,132 #92 boy name
1980 3,301 29 3,272 #92 boy name
1981 3,077 31 3,046 #98 boy name
1982 3,065 31 3,034 #97 boy name
1983 2,777 33 2,744
1984 2,709 24 2,685
1985 2,577 7 2,570
1986 2,425 20 2,405
1987 2,398 19 2,379
1988 2,309 10 2,299
1989 2,228 10 2,218
1990 2,213 0 2,213
1991 1,848 14 1,834
1992 1,711 0 1,711
1993 1,527 11 1,516
1994 1,271 0 1,271
1995 1,205 0 1,205
1996 1,097 11 1,086
1997 1,100 0 1,100
1998 951 0 951
1999 855 0 855
2000 894 0 894
2001 925 0 925
2002 838 0 838
2003 811 0 811
2004 778 10 768
2005 730 0 730
2006 740 0 740
2007 712 0 712
2008 725 0 725
2009 644 0 644
2010 697 0 697
2011 707 0 707
2012 656 0 656
2013 669 0 669
2014 756 0 756
2015 765 0 765
2016 784 0 784
2017 782 0 782
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Where is the name Russell popular?

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Popularity of Russell as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Russell as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in West Virginia, Montana, or Rhode Island.

Popularity of Russell as a last name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Russell as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Vermont.

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Common last names for Russell

  • Smith
  • Johnson
  • Miller
  • Brown
  • Williams
  • Jones
  • Davis
  • Anderson
  • Wilson
  • Taylor
  • Thompson
  • Moore
  • Clark
  • Thomas
  • Martin
  • White
  • Lewis
  • Baker
  • Young
  • Hall

Common first names for Russell

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity Russell U.S.
â–ˆ  White 77.05% 64.26%
â–ˆ  African American 16.69% 11.96%
â–ˆ  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 0.57% 4.85%
â–ˆ  American Indian and Alaska Native 1.05% 0.69%
â–ˆ  Two or More Ethnicities 2.18% 1.76%
â–ˆ  Hispanic or Latino 2.46% 16.26%

Of Last Name Russell

People with the last name Russell are most frequently White or African American

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name Russell

  • What name lists does Russell rank for?
    #90Most Popular Boy Name
    #70Classic Boy Names
    #8 Last Name First Names
  • How Popular is the name Russell? Russell is the 190th most popular name of all time. As a last name Russell was the 104th most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name Russell have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 354,580 babies born with the first name Russell in the United States. That's more than enough people named Russell to occupy the country of Bahamas with an estimated population of 353,658 (as of May 3, 2010).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named Russell? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 62 new born babies.
  • When was Russell first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Russell is Tuesday, April 22nd, 1800.
  • What year had the most people named Russell born? The highest recorded use of the first name Russell was in 1959 with a total of 7,478 babies. That's a lot of babies named Russell!
  • Random Russell Factoid: According to the 1920 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Russell ranks 54th in popularity as a baby boy's name in District of Columbia. Imagine that, 12 babies in District of Columbia have the same name as you in 1920.
  • Weird things about the name Russell: Your name in reverse order is Llessur. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Lrsslue. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name Russell? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 221,558 people with the last name Russell.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Russell? Russell was ranked as the 104th most popular last name but is still less than 0.1% of the population!
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What Russells Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for Russell

Name poster for Russell(click to save the high quality version)

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All Name Lists

  • Sources:
  • U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain).
  • U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain).
  • Other Dictionary Sources: WordNet 3.1 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University (License).
  • Wiktionary: Titles and License.
  • Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.