Rut

Rut is the Polish form of Hebrew Ruth. The name goes back to the biblical Ruth of Moab, and readers of Hebrew have long tied it to the root re'ut, a word for friendship. From there comes the plain gloss that follows Rut around: friend.

The Book of Ruth explains that loyalty. Ruth stays with Naomi, her widowed mother-in-law, and will not go back to her own people. Polish keeps the idea in two words, wierna towarzyszka, a faithful companion. The meaning names a choice to remain.

The name travels well. In Sweden and Denmark, Rut is an ordinary given name with its own place in the calendar. Spanish speakers write it Rut too, dropping the h that English holds onto. On a Polish class register it is easy to read at roll call. Four letters, and behind them one old word: friend.