Where Does the Rufin Surname Come From?

Not every Rufin is related, but the name itself grew out of Ruffin. Name scholars give the meaning as “Red-haired”. Rufin drops the “f” of Ruffin, a shortening that clerks often made. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. The same family of names includes Ruffing and Ruffins.

According to the 2010 US Census, the Rufin surname had 277 bearers. Of these, 45% identified as Hispanic or Latino. 1,083 people born in France between 1891 and 2000 carried the Rufin name at birth. The name became more frequent over the century.

Arms linked to Ruffin and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to. For the full story, order the Rufin surname pack.