Ruffin
A masculine variant of the Norman French surname meaning "red-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 222 living Americans carry the first name Ruffin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ruffin today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruffin births was 1916 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruffin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
222
~ 1 in 1,543,938 Americans
Peak year
1916
19 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2013 SSA rank
#13,684
Tracked since 1886
Popularity
Ruffin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruffin from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 128 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruffin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ruffin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ruffins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruffin
The name Ruffin is believed to have originated as a medieval French surname derived from the Old French word "roux," meaning "red-haired." It was likely used as a descriptive nickname for someone with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Ruffin date back to the 12th century in France, where it was primarily found in regions such as Normandy and Brittany. Over time, the surname evolved into a given name, particularly in the English-speaking world.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Ruffin was Ruffin of Avignon, a 13th-century French troubadour and poet. His works, which were written in the Occitan language, offer valuable insights into the culture and literary traditions of medieval Provence.
In the 16th century, Ruffin Ward was an English translator and writer who is best known for his translation of the works of the French philosopher and essayist Michel de Montaigne. Ward's translation played a significant role in introducing Montaigne's ideas to English-speaking audiences.
During the American Civil War, Edmund Ruffin was a prominent figure in the secessionist movement. Born in 1794, Ruffin was an ardent supporter of slavery and is often credited with firing the first shot at Fort Sumter in 1861, effectively marking the start of the war.
In the realm of literature, Ruffin Golson Vaughan was an American author and educator who lived from 1880 to 1975. Vaughan is best known for his collection of short stories titled "The Tall Woman and Other Stories," which explored themes of race, identity, and the complexities of life in the American South.
Another notable figure with the name Ruffin was Thomas Ruffin, an American jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 1833 to 1852. Ruffin's legal opinions and writings had a significant impact on the development of American jurisprudence during the 19th century.
People
Ruffin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruffin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ruffin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruffin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 222 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruffin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,543,938 US residents.
Is Ruffin a common name?
We classify Ruffin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 555 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruffin most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruffin was 1916, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruffin is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ruffin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ruffin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.