# Rufus (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/rufus/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “red” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹuːfəs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 36,225 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 36,074 / 151 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,758, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin rūfus (“red”).

## What it means

Rufus is grouped under red.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 7 | 4,214 |
| 1928 | 6 | 4,631 |
| 1929 | 5 | 5,173 |
| 1931 | 6 | 4,265 |
| 1936 | 6 | 4,091 |
| 1940 | 8 | 3,462 |
| 1942 | 5 | 5,258 |
| 1948 | 5 | 5,890 |
| 1949 | 6 | 5,148 |
| 1951 | 5 | 6,083 |
| 1952 | 6 | 5,449 |
| 1955 | 6 | 5,713 |
| 1957 | 5 | 6,857 |
| 1961 | 5 | 7,350 |
| 1965 | 5 | 7,317 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 40 | 2,945 |
| 2012 | 30 | 3,610 |
| 2013 | 44 | 2,704 |
| 2014 | 20 | 4,828 |
| 2015 | 43 | 2,799 |
| 2016 | 35 | 3,281 |
| 2017 | 36 | 3,239 |
| 2018 | 26 | 4,082 |
| 2019 | 30 | 3,701 |
| 2020 | 26 | 4,005 |
| 2021 | 25 | 4,211 |
| 2022 | 28 | 3,971 |
| 2023 | 19 | 5,209 |
| 2024 | 26 | 4,170 |
| 2025 | 27 | 4,019 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 200 | 239 |
| 2012 | 218 | 236 |
| 2013 | 217 | 237 |
| 2014 | 195 | 260 |
| 2015 | 210 | 250 |
| 2016 | 199 | 266 |
| 2017 | 214 | 250 |
| 2018 | 194 | 264 |
| 2019 | 163 | 300 |
| 2020 | 148 | 311 |
| 2021 | 140 | 326 |
| 2022 | 109 | 388 |
| 2023 | 110 | 371 |
| 2024 | 95 | 422 |
| 2025 | 78 | 494 |

## People named Rufus

- Rufus Wainwright, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and composer
- Rufus Sewell, English actor (born 1967)
- Rufus King, American Founding Father (1755–1827)
- Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American editor, literary critic, anthologist, and writer (1815–1857)
- Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, British politician (1860-1935)
- Rufus Thomas, American singer (1917–2001)
- Rufus Choate, American politician (1799–1859)
- Rufus Beck, German actor
- Rufus Bullock, American politician (1834-1907)
- Rufus Jones, American writer (1863-1948)
- Rufus Pollock, economist and co-founder of the Open Knowledge Foundation
- Rufus Blodgett, American politician (1834-1910)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.