Given name & surname
Russ
“a little red-haired boy”
Russ is a variant of Russell. One French interpretation is “a little red-haired boy.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Russ is a variant of Russell. One French interpretation is “a little red-haired boy.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Old French, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English use, Russ is used as a shortened form of Russell.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1898. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Russ through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,131
- 6,131 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1959
- 350 babies
- 2025
- 20
- #5,008 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +68%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 20 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,008 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 67.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 350 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,491 as a first name in 2020; 14,521 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Russ’s family of names
In English usage, Russ is a diminutive of Russell. Russ is a short form of Russell. Russ has a related form in Russell.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Russ
- Russ MeyerAmerican film director and photographer (1922–2004)
- Russ KunNauruan politicianborn 1975
- Russ FeingoldWisconsin politician; three-term U.S. Senatorborn 1953
- Russ TamblynAmerican actorborn 1934
- Russ BallardEnglish musicianborn 1945
- Russ HowardCanadian curlerborn 1956
- Russ CarnahanAmerican politicianborn 1958
- Russ FulcherAmerican politician (born 1962)born 1963
- RussAmerican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, author, and actorborn 1992
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Russ, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Revell
“rebellious”
>99% boys
Guy
“a warrior; from the wood” · “a lively man”
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Stuart
“a steward; the keeper of the estate”
>99% boys
Rocky
“one who is calm; restful” · “one who is bright with fame”
93% boys · 7% girls
Dino
“one who wields a little sword”
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Monty
“from Gomeric's mountain” · “of the steep mountain”
99% boys · 1% girls
Laurence
“crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree” · “man from Laurentum; crowned with laurel”
95% boys · 5% girls
Roy
“a red-haired man” · “a king”
>99% boys