Rufus

First Name
36k
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
1k
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named Rufus
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name Rufus
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Rufuss Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce Rufus

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Rufus mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Rufus

User Submitted Meanings

  • A submission from California, United States says the name Rufus means "Chosen in the Lord" and is of Biblical origin.
  • A submission from Sweden says the name Rufus means "The golden heart" and is of Scottish origin.

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Wiktionary

From Latin rufus (“red”).

  1. Either of two persons mentioned in the New Testament (in Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13).
  2. A male given name, used since the seventeenth century.

Rufus was also found in the following language(s): Latin

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Notable Persons Named Rufus

Rufus Sewell

Rufus Sewell is an actor. His most notable accomplishments were from 1993 to present. Rufus was given the name Rufus Frederik Sewell on October 29th, 1967 in Twickenham, England.

Popularity:
Rufus Wainwright

He holds the title Rufus Wainwright: "Banks of the Wabash". Rufus was given the name Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright on July 22nd, 1973 in Rhinebeck, New York, U.S.

Popularity:
Bizarre

Bizarre is a hip hop music and horrorcore musician. He has been prominent since 1995. Bizarre was given the name Rufus Arthur Johnson on July 5th, 1976.

Popularity:
Rufus King

Rufus King was a United States Minister to Great Britain and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. His most notable accomplishments were from 1813 to 1825. Rufus was born on March 24th, 1755 in Scarborough, Maine. He left this life on April 29th, 1827.

Popularity:
Rufus Gifford

Rufus Gifford is a United States Ambassador to Denmark. He was most active from 2013 to present. Rufus was born on August 5th, 1974 in Boston.

Popularity:
Rufus Tiger Taylor

Rufus Tiger Taylor is a musician. He plays Drum kit and Percussion instrument. His most notable accomplishments were from 2008 to present. Rufus was born Rufus Tiger Taylor on March 8th, 1991 in London, England.

Popularity:
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Notable Persons With the Last Name Rufus

Quintus Curtius Rufus

Quintus Curtius Rufus is a historian. He was most active from 1 to 1.

Popularity:
Rufus

Rufus is an actor. He was most prominent from 1967 to present. Rufus was given the name Jacques Narcy on December 19th, 1942 in Riom.

Popularity:
Gaius Musonius Rufus

Gaius Musonius Rufus was a philosopher. Gaius was born in 20 in Volsinii. He left this life in 101.

Popularity:
Richard Rufus

Richard Rufus is a soccer player for the Charlton Athletic F.C. and England national under-21 football team. Richard was born on January 12th, 1975 in Lewisham.

Popularity:
Quintus Tineius Rufus

Quintus was born in 90. He left this life in 131.

Popularity:
Lucius Varius Rufus

Lucius Varius Rufus is a writer.

Popularity:
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How popular is the baby name Rufus in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born Ranking
1880 163 0 163 #88 boy name
1881 121 0 121
1882 147 0 147 #98 boy name
1883 125 0 125
1884 117 0 117
1885 118 0 118
1886 139 0 139
1887 119 0 119
1888 126 0 126
1889 108 0 108
1890 115 0 115
1891 107 0 107
1892 137 0 137
1893 139 0 139
1894 128 0 128
1895 135 0 135
1896 145 0 145
1897 124 0 124
1898 141 0 141
1899 127 0 127
1900 157 0 157
1901 121 0 121
1902 152 0 152
1903 134 0 134
1904 138 0 138
1905 157 0 157
1906 156 0 156
1907 175 0 175
1908 156 0 156
1909 206 0 206
1910 221 0 221
1911 230 0 230
1912 336 0 336
1913 416 6 410
1914 495 0 495
1915 595 7 588
1916 577 0 577
1917 646 0 646
1918 728 7 721
1919 682 5 677
1920 735 6 729
1921 721 0 721
1922 746 9 737
1923 678 0 678
1924 718 8 710
1925 683 7 676
1926 651 10 641
1927 697 7 690
1928 608 6 602
1929 572 5 567
1930 564 0 564
1931 489 6 483
1932 511 0 511
1933 477 0 477
1934 480 0 480
1935 459 0 459
1936 457 6 451
1937 476 0 476
1938 445 0 445
1939 428 0 428
1940 467 8 459
1941 457 0 457
1942 462 5 457
1943 483 0 483
1944 478 0 478
1945 412 0 412
1946 468 0 468
1947 488 0 488
1948 470 5 465
1949 504 6 498
1950 407 0 407
1951 450 5 445
1952 464 6 458
1953 448 0 448
1954 472 0 472
1955 415 6 409
1956 401 0 401
1957 416 5 411
1958 345 0 345
1959 359 0 359
1960 332 0 332
1961 334 5 329
1962 272 0 272
1963 301 0 301
1964 303 0 303
1965 233 5 228
1966 228 0 228
1967 231 0 231
1968 194 0 194
1969 206 0 206
1970 184 0 184
1971 196 0 196
1972 179 0 179
1973 163 0 163
1974 144 0 144
1975 147 0 147
1976 149 0 149
1977 142 0 142
1978 132 0 132
1979 134 0 134
1980 149 0 149
1981 139 0 139
1982 119 0 119
1983 120 0 120
1984 108 0 108
1985 125 0 125
1986 89 0 89
1987 97 0 97
1988 96 0 96
1989 78 0 78
1990 81 0 81
1991 78 0 78
1992 67 0 67
1993 55 0 55
1994 62 0 62
1995 44 0 44
1996 39 0 39
1997 47 0 47
1998 42 0 42
1999 40 0 40
2000 36 0 36
2001 34 0 34
2002 38 0 38
2003 27 0 27
2004 41 0 41
2005 34 0 34
2006 36 0 36
2007 29 0 29
2008 27 0 27
2009 23 0 23
2010 36 0 36
2011 40 0 40
2012 30 0 30
2013 44 0 44
2014 20 0 20
2015 43 0 43
2016 35 0 35
2017 35 0 35
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Where is the name Rufus popular?

View popular names by state or region.

Popularity of Rufus as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Rufus as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Mississippi, South Carolina, or Georgia.

Popularity of Rufus as a last name

The map shows the absolute popularity of the name Rufus as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Illinois, Tennessee, or South Carolina.

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Common last names for Rufus

  • Smith
  • Williams
  • Johnson
  • Jones
  • Brown
  • Davis
  • Jackson
  • White
  • Moore
  • Miller
  • Taylor
  • King
  • Thompson
  • Martin
  • Thomas
  • Anderson
  • Clark

Common first names for Rufus

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity Rufus U.S.
â–ˆ  White 14.52% 64.26%
â–ˆ  African American 76.10% 11.96%
â–ˆ  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 1.64% 4.85%
â–ˆ  American Indian and Alaska Native 1.64% 0.69%
â–ˆ  Two or More Ethnicities 3.50% 1.76%
â–ˆ  Hispanic or Latino 2.61% 16.26%

Of Last Name Rufus

People with the last name Rufus are most frequently White or African American

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name Rufus

  • What name lists does Rufus rank for?
    #65Old-Fashioned Boy Names
  • How Popular is the name Rufus? Rufus is the 1,234th most popular name of all time. As a last name Rufus was the 19,966th most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name Rufus have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 36,007 babies born with the first name Rufus in the United States. That's more than enough people named Rufus to occupy the country of Monaco with an estimated population of 35,881 (as of July 1, 2010).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named Rufus? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 163 new born babies.
  • When was Rufus first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Rufus is Tuesday, February 17th, 1863.
  • What year had the most people named Rufus born? The highest recorded use of the first name Rufus was in 1922 with a total of 737 babies.
  • Random Rufus Factoid: According to the 1928 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Rufus ranks 92nd in popularity as a baby boy's name in Florida. Imagine that, 30 babies in Florida have the same name as you in 1928.
  • Weird things about the name Rufus: Your name in reverse order is Sufur. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Rfsuu. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name Rufus? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 1,343 people with the last name Rufus.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Rufus? Chances are, most people haven't met someone with Rufus as their last name since less than 1 person in 217k people have that last name. If you know one, consider yourself lucky!
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What Rufuss Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for Rufus

Name poster for Rufus(click to save the high quality version)

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Most Popular Names

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All Name Lists

  • Sources:
  • U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain).
  • U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain).
  • Wiktionary: Titles and License.
  • Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.