As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
As a Christian name, Ruth has been in use since the Protestant Reformation. In England it was associated with the archaic word ruth meaning "pity, compassion" (now only commonly seen in the word ruthless). The name became very popular in America following the birth of "Baby" Ruth Cleveland (1891-1904), the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.
The name was brought to public attention by Samuel A. Taylor's play Sabrina Fair (1953) and the movie adaptation Sabrina that followed it the next year. This is also the name of a comic book character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, first introduced 1962 and with television adaptations in 1970-1974 and 1996-2003, both causing minor jumps in popularity. Another jump occurred in 1976, when it was used for a main character on the television series Charlie's Angels.
One bearer from Japanese mythology is Konohananosakuya-hime (このはなのさくやひめ), simply known as Sakuya-hime (さくやひめ), who is a blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life. "Sakuya" in Sakuya-hime is popularly written as 咲耶 but it can also be written as 佐久夜 (with 佐 - sa - meaning "assistant, help"), as used in the Kojiki, or 開耶 (with 開 - kai, a.ku, a.keru, hira.ki, hira.ku, hira.keru, -bira.ki - meaning "open, unfold, unseal"), as used in the Nihon Shoki.
The name received a boost in popularity after it was borne by the antagonist in the horror movie The Ring (2002).
Other kanji combinations are possible.
As a word, Senri (千里) means "1000 ri" (a ri is equivalent to 3.927 km or 2.44 miles) or, in other words, "a long distance."
Senri is also used as a surname.
This was the name of a 13th-century Italian saint who made clothes for the poor. As an English name, it has never been common.
This name was brought to public attention after actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave it to their daughter in 2006.
As a given name, it has traditionally been more masculine than feminine. In America however, after the variant Sydney became popular for girls, Sidney was used more for girls than boys between 1993 and 2019.
As an English name, it was occasionally used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Old Testament heroine. It did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, at which time it was often spelled Susan.
The name has been born by Tongan kings and chiefs in antiquity. Baron Vaea, born Siaosi Tuʻihala ʻAlipate Vaea Tupou, was the Prime Minister of Tonga from 1991-2000. Mount Vaea is a mountain overlooking the Samoan capital of Apia on the island of Upolu, and is best known as the burial site of writer Robert Louis Stevenson. The name of the mountain comes from the Samoan myth of the giant Vaea who, in grieving for the loss of his son, petrified and became the mountain.
Though in use elsewhere in Europe, the name was very rare in the English-speaking world until the 19th century, when Queen Victoria began her long rule of Britain. She was named after her mother, who was of German royalty. Many geographic areas are named after the queen, including an Australian state and a Canadian city.
This was the name of the first English baby born in the New World: Virginia Dare in 1587 on Roanoke Island. Perhaps because of this, the name has generally been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though in both Britain and America it was not often used until the 19th century. The baby was named after the Colony of Virginia, which was itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. A more recent bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).
In England the name was popularized when Princess Anne gave it to her daughter in 1981. Use of the name may also be influenced by the trendy Spanish clothing retailer Zara.
As an English name, Zoe (sometimes with a diaeresis as Zoë) has only been in use since the 19th century. It has generally been more common among Eastern Christians (in various spellings).