Given name & surname
Rufus
“red(-haired )”·“a red-haired man”
Rufus is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “red(-haired )” (Latin) and “a red-haired man” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original GreekΡουφος
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “red(-haired )” (Latin) and “a red-haired man” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
From Latin rūfus (“red”); its root is Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Rufus appears in Mark 15:21, Romans 16:13.
- Mark 15:21
- Romans 16:13
From biblical name research
Rufus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 36,225
- 36,074 boys · 151 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 746 babies
- 2025
- 27
- #4,019 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −18%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 27 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,019 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 737 in 1922. In 2025, Washington had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 10,707 as a first name in 2020; 1,390 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.
Rufus’s family of names
Rufus has a later derivative in Rufino. In Polish usage, Rufus has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Rufo. Rufus has a related form in Rufino.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Rufus has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
2 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Rufus
- Rufus WainwrightAmerican-Canadian singer-songwriter and composerborn 1973
- Rufus SewellEnglish actor (born 1967)
- Rufus KingAmerican Founding Father (1755–1827)
- Rufus Wilmot GriswoldAmerican editor, literary critic, anthologist, and writer (1815–1857)
- Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of ReadingBritish politician (1860-1935)
- Rufus ThomasAmerican singer (1917–2001)
- BizarreAmerican rapperborn 1976
- Rufus of Ephesuslate 1st and early 2nd century Greek physician100–200
- Young NobleAmerican rapper1978–2025
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Rufus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Regis
“a kingly or regal man”
>99% boys
Urban
“city-dweller” · “from the city”
>99% boys
Horace
“the keeper of time”
>99% boys
Morris
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
>99% boys
Gaetano
“a man from Gaeta”
>99% boys
Claude
“one who is lame”
>99% boys
Giles
“resembling a young goal”
>99% boys
Maurice
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
>99% boys