Rufus
Rufus is a boy name of Latin origin, meaning Red-haired.
What Rufus means
Red-haired.
Rufus sits at 5 letters, and ends on a consonant, which gives it a firmer stop.
Where Rufus comes from
Latin names travelled through the Roman world and then through the Church, which is why so many survive across Europe in local variants. A great many were originally descriptive — of virtue, of appearance, or of birth order.
Rufus is recorded as Latin in origin. Browse other Latin names.
How popular is Rufus?
Rufus is not in the current top 100 boy names we track. In practice that means a child called Rufus is unlikely to be one of three in a classroom — the name is established and recognisable, just not in heavy circulation right now.
The character of Rufus
Rufus spans Color and the long-established classics, which is why it can read differently depending on which association you notice first. Both threads are worth following.
Names like Rufus
These share Rufus's themes, origin, or both — closest first.
- Roman — Citizen of Rome; strong.
- August — Great, venerable, majestic.
- Julian — Youthful; devoted to Jupiter.
- Romulus — Founder of Rome.
- Augustine — Great and venerable.
- Augustus — Great, venerable and majestic.
- Benedict — Blessed.
- Cassian — Of Cassius; an old Roman name.
- Cassius — Hollow; (later) clever.
- Crispin — Curly-haired.
- Fabian — Bean grower.
- Francis — Free one; Frenchman.