Rufus
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Latin, used since the seventeenth century. From Latin rūfus (“red”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Rufus (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Rufus has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2008. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | 10 |
| 2004 | 9 |
| 2005 | 12 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 16 |
| 2008 | 36 |
| 2009 | 36 |
| 2010 | 28 |
| 2011 | 21 |
| 2012 | 30 |
| 2013 | 26 |
| 2014 | 19 |
| 2015 | 29 |
| 2016 | 17 |
| 2017 | 16 |
| 2018 | 13 |
| 2019 | 15 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 15 |
| 2022 | 15 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 33 |
| 2000 | 36 |
| 2001 | 36 |
| 2002 | 40 |
| 2003 | 51 |
| 2004 | 59 |
| 2005 | 71 |
| 2006 | 72 |
| 2007 | 92 |
| 2008 | 131 |
| 2009 | 173 |
| 2010 | 199 |
| 2011 | 224 |
| 2012 | 253 |
| 2013 | 278 |
| 2014 | 297 |
| 2015 | 328 |
| 2016 | 343 |
| 2017 | 357 |
| 2018 | 372 |
| 2019 | 390 |
| 2020 | 398 |
Rufus in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Rufus.Hi! My name is Rufus.
- Har du träffat Rufus? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Rufus? He started working here on Monday.
- Rufus har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Rufus has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Rufus mamma är lärare.Rufus's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Rufus mamma is Rufus's mum. Because Rufus already ends in s, nothing is added.
More names
Questions about Rufus
How do you pronounce Rufus in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Rufus in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Rufus mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Latin, used since the seventeenth century. From Latin rūfus (“red”).
How popular is Rufus in Sweden?
15 babies were named Rufus in 2022. In 2020, 398 people in Sweden had Rufus as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2008 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.