ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1919 First Year 2024 Last Year 2016 Peak Year #7601 Peak Rank 144 Total Count 16 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Ruhama What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Ruhama is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The original settlement, established in 1912, is considered the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev. Located around ten kilometres east of Sderot and surrounded by a nature reserve, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2024 it had a population of 770. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhama) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhama) 🏛️Origin & history Ruhama was, for many years, the southernmost settlement of Zionist immigrants to Palestine. Due to its remote location, the settlement faced significant economic challenges and was founded and abandoned three times before being permanently reestablished in 1944\. Ruhama was initially founded in 1912, following a land purchase in 1909 by the Moscow-based Sheerit Israel ( Hebrew : שארית ישראל , “Remnant of Israel”) group. The 600 hectares of land, located east of Gaza , originally belonged to the Atawna Bedouin , who lived in the nearby village of al-Jammama and cultivated grain on the land. Howe [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Ruhama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ruhama_dining_room_2008.jpg/330px-Ruhama_dining_room_2008.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhama) 📖 ## The Story of Ruhama Ruhama first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1919, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2016, when 15 Ruhamas were born — ranking #7,601 that year. As of 2026, Ruhama ranks #12,120 for baby girls with 7 births, with steady use. In total, more than 144 Ruhamas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1910s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Ruhama A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●Recha Freier , a deputy to Zionist leader Henrietta Szold moved to Ruhama in 1947 * ●Jonathan Roshfeld, MasterChef Israel * ●Avi Toledano , Israeli singer Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhama) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhama) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Ruhama Phonetically similar names — useful when Ruhama is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Ruhamah](/ruhamah) * [Rihanna](/rihanna) * Retama * [Rohana](/rohana) * Rahimi * [Rumana](/rumana) * [Ratana](/ratana) * Rutina * [Rama](/rama) * [Romana](/romana) * [Raheem](/raheem) * [Rahim](/rahim) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Ruhama What does the name Ruhama mean? Ruhama is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The original settlement, established in 1912, is considered the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev. Located around ten kilometres east of Sderot and surrounded by a nature reserve, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2024 it had a population of 770. How popular is Ruhama in 2026? In 2026, Ruhama ranks #12,120 among girls' names in the U.S., with 7 babies given the name that year. When was Ruhama most popular? Ruhama reached its peak popularity in 2016, ranking #7,601 that year with 15 babies given the name. Is Ruhama a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Ruhama is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Ruhama? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Ruhama include Tamsyn, Adaira, Sira. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧TamsynPeak #7601](/tamsyn)[👧AdairaPeak #7601](/adaira)[👧SiraPeak #7601](/sira)[👧ZoieePeak #7601](/zoiee)[👧AdilenyPeak #7601](/adileny)[👧JaymesPeak #7601](/jaymes)[👧YalenaPeak #7601](/yalena)[👧NialaPeak #7601](/niala) ## About the name Ruhama Ruhama is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1919 and has accumulated 144 births in the dataset. Ruhama's peak popularity came in 2016 when it ranked #7,601\. Use the chart and map above to compare Ruhama's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2016 → ](/year/2016) * [ Names of the 2010s → ](/decade/2010s) * [ Names starting with "R" → ](/letter/r) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.