Rufus

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Rufus: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Rufus: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #236 in 2012, and it stood at #422 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
30times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#236highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#552
1997	#613
1998	#526
1999	#544
2000	#527
2001	#460
2002	#468
2003	#469
2004	#402
2005	#331
2006	#301
2007	#273
2008	#274
2009	#254
2010	#238
2011	#239
2012	#236
2013	#237
2014	#260
2015	#250
2016	#266
2017	#250
2018	#264
2019	#300
2020	#311
2021	#326
2022	#388
2023	#371
2024	#422

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2013: #237 among boys in England and Wales, #711 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #552 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #236 among boys in England and Wales, in 2012 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #422 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Rufus by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Rufus in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	129	4 of 10	32
2000s	941	10 of 10	94
2010sbusiest	2,008	10 of 10	201
2020s	602	5 of 10	120

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 201 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Rufus appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #236 in England and Wales in 2012.

Rufus's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#422	95	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#371	110	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#388	109	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#326	140	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#311	148	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#300	163	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#264	194	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#250	214	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#266	199	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#250	210	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#260	195	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#237	217	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#236	218	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#239	200	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#238	198	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#254	175	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#274	157	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#273	147	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#301	117	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#331	96	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#402	69	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#469	52	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#468	46	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#460	45	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#527	37	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#544	35	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#526	36	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#613	27	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#552	31	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#711	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #236, first reached in 2012.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 218 births, registered in England and Wales in 2012.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2013, and 17 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Rue · #333, 13y
Rueben · #339, 29y
Rugile · #550, 16y
Ruhaan · #1192, 16y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Ayomide · #236, 29y
Mika · #238, 33y
Lilly-May · #233, 27y
Dudley · #232, 28y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Aiza · #236, 27y
Andy · #236, 33y
Ayomide · #236, 29y
Iwan · #236, 29y

Rufus was ranked #236 in England and Wales · Boys in 2012. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Rufus and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Rufus without appearing here.

Rufus moved ahead of

Gary Compare
In 2004 they stood at #402 and #394 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #331 and #574.
Derek Compare
In 1996 they stood at #552 and #464 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1997 that had become #613 and #809.
Graham Compare
In 1999 they stood at #544 and #516 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2000 that had become #527 and #710.
Kenneth Compare
In 2002 they stood at #468 and #411 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #469 and #633.

Moved ahead of Rufus

Finley Compare
In 1996 they stood at #552 and #704 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1997 that had become #613 and #484.
Roman Compare
In 1999 they stood at #544 and #809 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2000 that had become #527 and #401.
Jude Compare
In 1996 they stood at #552 and #654 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1997 that had become #613 and #505.
Lachlan Compare
In 2023 they stood at #371 and #393 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #422 and #328.

Moved the opposite way to Rufus

Brooke Compare
Between 1996 and 2020 in England and Wales · Boys, Rufus went from #552 to #311 while Brooke went from #2357 to #4608.
Shannon Compare
Between 1996 and 2019 in England and Wales · Boys, Rufus went from #552 to #300 while Shannon went from #1168 to #4702.
Kim Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Rufus went from #552 to #250 while Kim went from #1168 to #4747.
Kristoffer Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Rufus went from #552 to #250 while Kristoffer went from #2357 to #3373.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #236 in England and Wales in 2012. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Rufus

Rufus at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Rufus by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Rufus appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Rufus

Rufus and the names beside it

Rufus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rufus

Moved the opposite way to Rufus

Rufus at a glance

Rufus by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Rufus appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Rufus

Rufus and the names beside it

Rufus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rufus

Moved the opposite way to Rufus