Given name & surname · also Japanese
Rui
“an affectionate woman”·“a regal man”
Rui is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “an affectionate woman” (Japanese) and “a regal man” (French). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Japanese愛
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “an affectionate woman” (Japanese) and “a regal man” (French). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Japanese and French naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1967. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Rui through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 972
- 887 boys · 85 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 71 babies
- 2025
- 59
- #2,672 for boys · #9,981 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +128%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 49 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,672 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 134.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 10 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,036 as a first name in 2020; 583 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.
Rui’s family of names
In Portuguese usage, Rui has a conventional equivalent in the French form Rodrigue. In Portuguese usage, Rui has a related form in Ruy. In Japanese usage, Rui is a Roman-alphabet rendering of ルイ.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Rui has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its French roots to each of them.
Frenchwhere Rui comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 7
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 12
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- RodrigueFrench
- Rodrigoequivalent
- Akiraequivalent
- RoderickEnglish
- Suiequivalent
- Yeequivalent
- 瑞equivalent
- 芮equivalent
Show 4 moreShow fewer
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Rui
- Rui PatrícioPortuguese association football playerborn 1988
- Rui CostaPortuguese footballer (born 1972)
- Rui SilvaPortuguese footballer (born 1994)
- Rui HachimuraJapanese basketball player (born 1998)
- Rui CostaPortuguese cyclistborn 1986
- Rui SilvaPortuguese middle and long-distance runnerborn 1977
- Rui JordãoPortuguese footballer (1952-2019)
- Rui JorgePortuguese footballerborn 1973
- Rui Maria de AraújoPrime minister of East Timorborn 1964
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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