Ruthellen

Meaning of Ruthellen

Ruthellen represents an Anglo-American compound given name derived from the Hebrew Ruth—denoting “compassionate friend”—and the Ancient Greek–Germanic Ellen/Helena, connoting “light” or “torch”; its morphological composition exemplifies a mid-20th-century tendency toward portmanteau formations in the United States. Phonetically rendered in American English as /ruːˈθələn/ (rooth-EL-uhn), it adheres to a trochaic stress pattern. Empirical data from Social Security records indicate that between 1918 and 1965 its annual occurrences fluctuated marginally between five and eleven instances, yielding national rank positions predominantly in the 600–800 range, with a modest apex of eleven in both 1941 (rank 586) and 1947 (rank 678) before gradually receding to six births by 1962 (rank 771). Although never attaining broad diffusion, Ruthellen’s enduring albeit limited presence underscores its technical appeal as a distinctive, analytically oriented choice within the repertoire of Anglo-American female given names.

Pronunciation

American English

• Pronunced as rooth-EL-uhn (/ruːˈθələn/)

• Ruthie
• Ellen
• Ruthanne
• Ruthella