Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Rufus?
Births per year, rank history and how many Rufuses are alive today.
Rufus (male) is an uncommon boys' name in England and Wales, ranked 494th in 2025 with 78 babies given the name. The name peaked in 2012, when 218 babies were given the name, the 236th most popular that year. It has declined since 2012; the 2025 figure is roughly 36% of its peak. Numbers have been falling in recent years.
The Rufus you are most likely to meet is around 14 years old. Half of all Rufuses born in England and Wales are between 8 and 18, and there are at least 3,900 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 1.3% chance that at least one of them will be called Rufus.
How many babies are named Rufus each year?
Where does Rufus rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Rufus most popular?
Rufus peaked in 2012, when 218 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Rufus?
At least 3,900 people named Rufus born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Rufus?
Most living Rufuses are between 8 and 18; the most common age is about 14.
Is Rufus becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 2012 peak.