Fun Facts About the Name Rutger
- 274 babies named Rutger: U.S. records list 274 babies given the name Rutger from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Rutger Mean?
Rutger is a Dutch masculine name from the Germanic name Hrodger (also recorded as Hrotger and Hruodger). It joins hrōd, meaning "fame" or "glory," to gēr, meaning "spear," so its literal sense is "famous spear" or "glory spear." The same Germanic compound is the source of Roger in English and French, Rüdiger in German, and Ruggero in Italian. Rutger is the Dutch branch of that shared name, not a separate coinage.
Rutger Name History & Origins
The Germanic name spread across medieval Europe in several local forms. In the Dutch-speaking Low Countries, it developed into Rutger, often Latinized as Rutgerus. The same name passed into Old French as Rogier, which produced English Roger, while German speakers developed Rüdiger and Italian speakers Ruggero. Rutger therefore belongs to the continental Germanic tradition rather than the Old English tradition, though the Old English cognate Hroðgar appears as King Hrothgar in the poem Beowulf; that literary figure is a relative of the name, not its origin.
How Popular is the Name Rutger?
Rutger has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1993. Its best rank was #3,018 in 1993.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,513 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #13,708 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #11,859 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #13,659 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #10,750 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #8,877 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #9,597 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #10,445 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #8,939 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #11,074 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #12,399 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #5,660 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #6,843 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #5,523 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #6,421 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #5,109 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1997 | #3,434 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1996 | #5,128 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #4,463 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #3,873 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1993 | #3,018 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1992 | #5,571 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #4,181 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1990 | #3,571 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1989 | #7,723 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #4,517 | 10 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
