Rufus
Rufus was given to 27 boys in 2025, #4,018 among boys’ names; 36,225 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,300 Americans named Rufus and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (31% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 50 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rufus by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rufus mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rufus is “a male given name from Latin, used since the seventeenth century.” Its etymology gives the sense “red” (rūfus).
From Latin rūfus (“red”).
/ˈɹuːfəs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rufus?
#4,018 among boys’ names, 2025
Rufus fell from #2,798 in 2015 to #4,018 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 22.4 to 15.8 per million.
746 babies in 1922, the peak
Rufus peaked in 1922, when 746 babies were given it (737 boys, #188 among boys’ names). The 27 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 27 | #4,018 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 26 | #4,167 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 19 | #5,204 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 28 | #3,968 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 25 | #4,207 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 26 | #4,002 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 30 | #3,698 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 26 | #4,078 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 36 | #3,238 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 35 | #3,280 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 43 | #2,798 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 20 | #4,824 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 44 | #2,702 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 30 | #3,607 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 40 | #2,944 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 36 | #3,170 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 24 | #4,251 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 27 | #3,899 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 29 | #3,671 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 36 | #3,072 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 34 | #3,070 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 41 | #2,626 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 28 | #3,347 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 39 | #2,539 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 34 | #2,776 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 36 | #2,606 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 43 | #2,189 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 42 | #2,186 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 47 | #1,953 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 39 | #2,170 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 44 | #1,943 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 62 | #1,523 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 55 | #1,631 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 67 | #1,386 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 78 | #1,265 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 81 | #1,218 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 78 | #1,213 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 96 | #990 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 97 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 89 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 125 | #797 | 0.07 |
| 1984 | 108 | #847 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 120 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1982 | 119 | #812 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 139 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1980 | 149 | #713 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 134 | #749 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 132 | #735 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 142 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1976 | 149 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 147 | #680 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 144 | #680 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 164 | #618 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 178 | #599 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 196 | #591 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 184 | #599 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 206 | #547 | 0.12 |
| 1968 | 193 | #545 | 0.11 |
| 1967 | 232 | #492 | 0.13 |
| 1966 | 228 | #503 | 0.13 |
| 1965 | 228 | #505 | 0.12 |
| 1964 | 303 | #456 | 0.15 |
| 1963 | 301 | #456 | 0.15 |
| 1962 | 272 | #481 | 0.13 |
| 1961 | 330 | #441 | 0.16 |
| 1960 | 332 | #441 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 358 | #420 | 0.17 |
| 1958 | 347 | #423 | 0.16 |
| 1957 | 410 | #380 | 0.19 |
| 1956 | 402 | #367 | 0.19 |
| 1955 | 406 | #357 | 0.20 |
| 1954 | 475 | #331 | 0.23 |
| 1953 | 449 | #331 | 0.23 |
| 1952 | 456 | #324 | 0.23 |
| 1951 | 445 | #325 | 0.24 |
| 1950 | 407 | #334 | 0.23 |
| 1949 | 498 | #304 | 0.28 |
| 1948 | 466 | #313 | 0.27 |
| 1947 | 489 | #315 | 0.27 |
| 1946 | 467 | #300 | 0.29 |
| 1945 | 412 | #296 | 0.31 |
| 1944 | 479 | #271 | 0.35 |
| 1943 | 483 | #278 | 0.34 |
| 1942 | 456 | #281 | 0.33 |
| 1941 | 457 | #261 | 0.37 |
| 1940 | 460 | #257 | 0.40 |
| 1939 | 430 | #260 | 0.39 |
| 1938 | 443 | #261 | 0.40 |
| 1937 | 479 | #242 | 0.45 |
| 1936 | 449 | #249 | 0.43 |
| 1935 | 461 | #250 | 0.44 |
| 1934 | 480 | #238 | 0.46 |
| 1933 | 477 | #238 | 0.48 |
| 1932 | 511 | #236 | 0.49 |
| 1931 | 482 | #240 | 0.46 |
| 1930 | 565 | #225 | 0.51 |
| 1929 | 566 | #226 | 0.53 |
| 1928 | 602 | #218 | 0.54 |
| 1927 | 690 | #204 | 0.61 |
| 1926 | 641 | #214 | 0.58 |
| 1925 | 676 | #207 | 0.61 |
| 1924 | 709 | #197 | 0.63 |
| 1923 | 678 | #199 | 0.62 |
| 1922 | 737 | #188 | 0.68 |
| 1921 | 721 | #191 | 0.65 |
| 1920 | 729 | #188 | 0.68 |
| 1919 | 677 | #190 | 0.69 |
| 1918 | 721 | #183 | 0.71 |
| 1917 | 646 | #187 | 0.70 |
| 1916 | 577 | #197 | 0.65 |
| 1915 | 588 | #188 | 0.69 |
| 1914 | 495 | #179 | 0.76 |
| 1913 | 410 | #169 | 0.80 |
| 1912 | 336 | #175 | 0.78 |
| 1911 | 230 | #148 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 221 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1909 | 206 | #131 | 1.3 |
| 1908 | 156 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1907 | 175 | #137 | 1.2 |
| 1906 | 156 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1905 | 157 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1904 | 138 | #143 | 1.1 |
| 1903 | 134 | #140 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 152 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1901 | 121 | #137 | 1.1 |
| 1900 | 157 | #141 | 1.0 |
| 1899 | 127 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1898 | 141 | #131 | 1.1 |
| 1897 | 124 | #131 | 1.1 |
| 1896 | 145 | #121 | 1.2 |
| 1895 | 135 | #124 | 1.1 |
| 1894 | 128 | #124 | 1.1 |
| 1893 | 139 | #118 | 1.2 |
| 1892 | 137 | #125 | 1.1 |
| 1891 | 107 | #129 | 1.1 |
| 1890 | 115 | #126 | 1.0 |
| 1889 | 108 | #133 | 1.0 |
| 1888 | 126 | #125 | 1.0 |
| 1887 | 119 | #114 | 1.2 |
| 1886 | 139 | #113 | 1.3 |
| 1885 | 118 | #117 | 1.1 |
| 1884 | 117 | #125 | 1.0 |
| 1883 | 125 | #106 | 1.2 |
| 1882 | 147 | #98 | 1.3 |
| 1881 | 121 | #105 | 1.2 |
| 1880 | 163 | #88 | 1.5 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Rufus a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rufus has been given almost only to boys: 151 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Rufus: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rufus, and how old are they?
11,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 31% of the 36,225 Americans ever recorded as Rufus. The median Rufus alive today is 65 years old; half are between 50 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 10,707 people named Rufus (33 women and girls, 10,674 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,466 born in the U.S. The Census count is 20% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,610 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,940 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,460 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,320 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 556 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 382 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Rufus born?
The states with the most babies named Rufus are Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama, with 35% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 4,238 | not ranked | 4.5× |
| North Carolina | 3,198 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| Alabama | 2,471 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| Texas | 2,405 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| South Carolina | 2,297 | not ranked | 3.8× |
| Mississippi | 1,932 | not ranked | 3.3× |
| Virginia | 1,558 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Florida | 1,421 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Louisiana | 1,324 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Tennessee | 1,319 | not ranked | 1.7× |
Where Rufus is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rufus is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 4.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Rufus with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 36,899 babies since 1880, Rufus is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 27 of their 27 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rufus
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rufus and names like it
- Compare Rufus and RuffusBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sRufus peaked in 1922.
- Georgia’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rufus since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Rufus: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1922The year the most babies were named Rufus.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Rufus alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.