Ruffin
Masculine · “red-haired”
Ruffin is a surname made into a first name, two syllables with a firm start and a soft end. In American history it belongs to a great soul singer and to a pioneering Black journalist in Boston.
How old is the name Ruffin?
Ruffin first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Ruffin alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 200 people named Ruffin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ruffin most popular?
Ruffin peaked in 1886, reaching #845 nationally. See the whole 1886 chart.
Where it comes from
From Rufus to Ruffin
The story of Ruffin
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, a Boston activist, founded The Woman's Era, the first newspaper published by and for African American women, and helped launch the national movement of Black women's clubs. A generation later David Ruffin, with his raw, pleading voice, sang lead on My Girl for the Temptations, one of the best-loved records Motown ever made. The surname came to America from England and France, and families gave it to sons as a first name.
Meaningscholars disagree
red-haired, from a Norman nickname
Ruffin is usually traced to a Norman French diminutive of Rufus, red, a nickname for someone red-haired; other origins for the surname have been suggested.
How the name formed
- Rufus
- Ruffin
Related forms: Ruffin
Pronouncing Ruffin
RUF-in
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
Nicknames for Ruffin
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1886
- Most boys named
- 191619 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #845reached in 1886
- Change vs 2013
- 0.0%5 in 2024, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ruffin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ruffin in French — same name
Ruffins among us
people named Ruffin are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ruffin sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It connects to two admired Americans.
- It sounds traditional and distinctive.
- It is almost never given now as a first name.
- It sounds like ruffian and rough, and jokes are easy.
- People will take it for a surname first.
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Ruffin
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Ruffins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Ruffin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ruffin in 2025?
- Ruffin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Ruffin with classmates?
- Ruffin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ruffin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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