Rupert

What Rupert means

Same root as Robert, meaning “shining glory”

Doublet of Robert || From Anglo-Norman Robert, from the Old Frankish cognate of Old High German Hrodperht (normalised form: Ruodberht), from Proto-West Germanic *Hrōþiberht, from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþiberhtaz (literally “shining glory”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Rupert” (revision 94543082) and “Robert” (revision 94543013), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Rupert?

US: Rising: up from #4407 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #143 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1899, when 21 boys got the name (#402 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 58,899 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 406 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 3,274 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NY (0.06 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Rupert is #3757 in the US and #79 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Rupert were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Rupert

Boys

• Lewis#433Same root as Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*
• Archie#301“anti-aircraft artillery”^*
• Warren#240“river, water”^*
• Conrad#417“bold, brave + counsel”^*
• Otis#652Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #71 vs #652 in 2025
• Bo#449Swedish, from Old Norse Búi, meaning “dweller, long-time resident”^*

For a sister

• Louisa#694Form of Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*
• Astrid#376Danish, from Old Norse Ástríðr, meaning “god + beautiful, originally…^*
• Amalia#566“vigor, bravery”^*
• Alice#65“noble + character”^*
• Zelda#832Editor’s note Down from #648 in 2015 to #832 in 2025 in the US
• Adaline#208Form of Adela, meaning “noble”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Germanic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Rupert’s. Rank is US 2025.