Given name & surname
Ruffin
“a red-haired man”
Ruffin is a variant of Ruff. One French interpretation is “a red-haired man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ruffin is a variant of Ruff. One French interpretation is “a red-haired man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Ruffin is a variant of Ruff. An origin associated with Ruff is French.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1886. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ruffin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 560
- 560 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1916
- 19 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 19 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 294 as a first name in 2020; 15,856 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.
Ruffin’s family of names
Ruffin has a related form in Ruff. In French usage, Ruffin as a surname has a related form in Rufin.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Ruffin
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ruffin, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Rubin
“behold, a son!”
>99% boys
Rollin
“from the renowned land”
>99% boys
Rufus
“red(-haired )” · “a red-haired man”
>99% boys
Russel
“a little red-haired boy”
>99% boys
Rowland
“from the renowned land”
>99% boys
Rupert
“one who is bright with fame”
>99% boys
Rueben
>99% boys
Ruel
“friend of God” · “a friend of God”
>99% boys