Ruby (given name) Ruby (given name) Ruby is a predominantly feminine given name taken from the name of the gemstone ruby. The name of the gemstone comes from the Latin "ruber", meaning "red". The ruby is the birthstone for the month of July. The name first came into wide use for girls in the late Victorian era along with other jewel names. Ruby is a currently popular name in English-speaking countries. It was the second most popular name given to baby girls in England and Wales in 2009, was the 24th most popular name given to baby girls born in Scotland in 2009;
Garnet as gemstones. The gemstone varieties occur in shades of green, red, yellow, and orange. In the US it is known as the birthstone for January. It is the state mineral of Connecticut, New York's gemstone, and star garnet (garnet with rutile asterisms) is the state gemstone of Idaho. Garnet sand is a good abrasive, and a common replacement for silica sand in sand blasting. Alluvial garnet grains which are rounder are more suitable for such blasting treatments. Mixed with very high pressure water, garnet is used to cut steel and other materials in water jets. For water jet cutting, garnet