Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin rufus, "red"). Notable people with the name include:

• Marcus Caelius Rufus, (28 May 82 BC – after 48 BC), orator and politician in the late Roman Republic
• Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician
• Rufus Aladesanmi III (born 1945), Yoruban king
• Rufus Applegarth (1844–1921), American lawyer and politician
• Rufus A. Ayers (1849–1926), American lawyer, businessman, and politician
• Rufus Barringer (1821–1895), American lawyer, politician, and military general
• Rufus Blodgett (1834–1910), American politician and railroad superintendent
• Rufus Bousquet (born 1958), Saint Lucian politician
• Rufus E. Brown (1854–1920), Vermont attorney, farmer, and politician
• Rufus Bullock (1834–1907), American politician
• Rufus Carter (1866–1932), Canadian farmer and political figure
• Rufus Cheney Jr., member of the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1850 session
• Rufus W. Cobb (1829–1913), American politician
• Rufus Curry (1859–1934), Canadian manufacturer and politician
• Rufus Davis (born 1964), mayor of Camilla, Georgia
• Rufus B. Dodge Jr. (1861–1935), American lawyer and politician
• Rufus A. Doughton (1857–1946), American politician
• Rufus Easton (1774–1834), American lawyer and politician
• Rufus Edmisten (born 1941), American politician and lawyer
• Rufus Elefante (1903–1994), American politician from Utica, New York
• Rufus Nelson England (1851–1911), Canadian merchant and political figure
• Rufus S. Frost (1826–1894), American politician
• Rufus King Garland Jr. (1830–1886), American politician
• Rufus K. Goodenow (1790–1863), American politician
• Rufus Hardy (representative) (1855–1943), American politician
• Rufus Erastus Hart (1812–1891), American politician and lawyer
• Rufus Henderson (1779–1847), Canadian physician, merchant and political figure
• Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860–1935), English politician and jurist
• Rufus King (1755–1827), pre-Civil War US politician
• Rufus H. King (1820–1890), American politician
• Rufus E. Lester (1837–1906), American politician
• Rufus Anderson Lyman (1842–1910), lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii
• Rufus Mallory (1831–1914), American educator, lawyer, and politician
• Rufus P. Manson (1830–1897), American politician
• Rufus McIntire (1784–1866), American lawyer, military officer, congressman, and land surveyor
• Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809–1873), American judge and congressman
• Rufus W. Peckham (1838–1909), American jurist
• Rufus Ferrand Pelletier (1824–?), American postmaster and politician
• Rufus Pettibone (1784–1825), justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri
• Rufus Phillips (1929–2021), American intelligence officer
• Rufus Henry Pope (1857–1944), Canadian politician
• Rufus K. Polk (1866–1902), American politician
• Rufus Pollock (born 1980), English economist
• Rufus P. Ranney (1813–1891), American politician
• Rufus Rodriguez (born 1953), Filipino politician
• Rufus Smith (1766–1844), Canadian physician and politician
• Rufus P. Spalding (1798–1886), American politician, lawyer and judge
• Rufus P. Tapley (1823–1893), justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court

• Rufus (biblical figure), a first-century Christian mentioned in Mark 15:21
• Rufus Anderson (1796–1880), American minister
• Rufus Babcock (1798–1895), American clergyman and academic
• Rufus Brome (born 1935), Bishop of Barbados
• Rufus Hollis Gause (1925–2015), American theologian
• Rufus Halley (c. 1944–2001), Roman Catholic missionary in the Philippines
• Rufus K. Hardy (1878–1945), leader and missionary in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Rufus Phineas Stebbins (1810–1885), American clergyman

• Rufus Alexander (born 1983), American football player
• Rufus Bess (born 1956), American football player
• Rufus Brevett (born 1969), English football player
• Rufus Brown (born 1980), American football player
• Rufus Crawford (born 1955), Canadian Football League player
• Rufus Deal (1917–2005), American football player
• Rufus French (born 1978), American football player
• Rufus Gilbert (1885–1962), American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach
• Rufus Granderson (1936–2015), American football player
• Rufus Guthrie (1942–2000), American football player
• Rufus Mayes (1947–1990), American football player
• Rufus Meadows (1907–1970), American baseball player
• Rufus B. Nalley (1870–1902), football, baseball, and track and field player
• Rufus Porter (American football) (born 1965), American football player
• Rufus Sisson (1890–1977), American basketball player
• Rufus Skillern (born 1982), Canadian football player
• Rufus Smith (baseball) (1905–1984), American baseball player

• Rufus Beck (born 1957), German theater, film, and voice actor
• Rufus Cappadocia, Canadian-American cellist
• Rufus Carl Gordon, Jr. (1932-2010), commonly known as Carl Gordon, American actor
• Rufus Harley (1936–2006), American jazz musician
• Rufus Hound (born 1979), British comedian
• Rufus Arthur Johnson (born 1976), better known as Bizarre, American rapper
• Rufus Jones (actor) (born 1975), English actor, comedian and writer
• Rufus "Speedy" Jones (1936–1990), American jazz drummer
• Rufus Payne (1883–1939), American blues musician known as Tee Tot
• Rufus Reid (born 1944), American jazz bassist, educator, and composer
• Rufus Sewell (born 1967), British actor
• Rufus C. Somerby (1832–1903), American entertainer, showman, and panoramist
• Rufus Tiger Taylor (born 1991), English musician
• Rufus Thibodeaux (1934–2005), American Cajun fiddler
• Rufus Thomas (1917–2001), American singer
• Rufus P. Turner (1907–1982), American electronics author
• Rufus Wainwright (born 1973), Canadian-American singer-songwriter
• Rufus Waller, better known as Scola, a member of Dru Hill, American singer and musician

• Rufus Travis Amis (1912–2007), American entrepreneur
• Rufus William Bailey (1793–1863), American academic
• Rufus Black (born 1969), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania
• Rufus Bowen (1947–1978), American professor of mathematics
• Rufus S. Bratton (1892–1958), American intelligence officer
• Rufus Columbus Burleson (1823–1901), American academic
• Rufus T. Bush (1840–1890), American businessman, oil refining industrialist, and yachtsman
• Rufus Choate (1799–1859), American lawyer and orator
• Rufus Early Clement (1900–1967), American academic
• Rufus Cole (1872–1966), American medical doctor
• Rufus Cowles Crampton (1828–1888), American educator
• Rufus Dawes (1838–1899), American military officer
• Rufus C. Dawes (1867–1940), American businessman
• Rufus Dayglo, English comics artist
• Rufus of Ephesus, 1st-century Greco-Roman physician and anatomist
• Rufus Estes (b. 1857 - d.1939), an American chef aboard luxury railway Pullman Company
• J. Rufus Fears (1945–2012), American historian, scholar, teacher and author
• Rufus Fitzgerald (1890–1966), American academic at the University of Pittsburgh
• Rufus Flint (c. 1865 – c. 1895), American Nicaraguan professor of English and mathematics
• Rufus Edward Foster (1871–1942), American jurist
• Rufus Franklin (1916–1975), American criminal
• Rufus Henry Gilbert (1832–1885), American surgeon and inventor
• Rufus Wilmot Griswold (1815–1857), American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic
• Rufus Hannah (1954–2017), aka "Rufus the Stunt Bum", of Bumfights fame
• Rufus Carrollton Harris (1897–1988), American academic
• Rufus G. Herring (1921–1996), American military officer and Medal of Honor winner
• Rufus Hessberg, American doctor and aeromedical scientist
• Rufus C. Holman (1877–1959), American politician and businessman
• Rufus K. Howell (1820–1890), Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
• Rufus Hussey (1919–1994), American slingshot marksman
• Rufus Ingalls (1818–1893), American military general
• Rufus Henry Ingram (1834–?), American bushwhacker
• Rufus Isaacs (game theorist) (1914–1981), American mathematician
• Rufus Zenas Johnston (1874–1959), American military officer and Medal of Honor winner
• Rufus Jones (writer) (1863–1948), American writer, philosopher and Quaker
• Rufus R. Jones (1933–1993), American wrestler
• Rufus Keppel, 10th Earl of Albemarle (born 1965), product designer and founder of a men's-shirt company
• Rufus King (general) (1814–1876), American newspaper editor, educator, diplomat, and military general
• Rufus King (writer) (1893–1966), American author of crime novels
• Rufus King Jr. (1838–1900), American military officer
• Rufus B. von KleinSmid (1875–1964), American academic
• Rufus Osgood Mason (1830–1903), American physician, teacher, and researcher in parapsychology and hypnotherapy
• Rufus May (born 1968?), British clinical psychologist
• Rufus McCain (1903–1940), American prisoner at Alcatraz
• Rufus Naylor (1882–1939), Australian sporting entrepreneur and gambler
• Rufus Norris (born 1965), British theatre director
• Rufus Palmer (1828–1873), Canadian physician and political figure
• Rufus Porter (painter) (1792–1884), American painter, inventor, and founder of Scientific American magazine
• Rufus Putnam (1738–1824), American military officer
• Rufus N. Rhodes (1856–1910), American newspaper editor
• Rufus G. Russell (1823–1896), American architect
• Rufus Sage (1817–1893), American writer, journalist and mountain man
• Rufus Saxton (1824–1908), American military general
• Rufus Stephenson (1835–1901), Canadian newspaper editor and political figure
• Rufus Stokes (1922–1986), American inventor
• Rufus of Thebes, bishop of Thebes in Greece, referenced in Romans 16:13
• Rufus Welch (1800–1856), American circus impresario
• Rufus Corbin Wood (1818–1885), sheriff of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
• Rufus Yerxa (born 1951), American Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization
• Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum (1849–1925), American illustrator, journalist and author

• Alexis Rufus (born 1979), English Muay Thai kickboxer
• Anneli Rufus, American journalist
• Geoffrey Rufus (died 1141), English Bishop and Lord Chancellor
• Milan Rúfus (1928–2009), Slovak poet and writer
• Richard Rufus (born 1975), English football player

• Rufus (born 1942), stage name of Italian-French actor Jacques Narcy
• Rufus (Roman cognomen), list of people who had one of the most common of the ancient Roman cognomina
• King William II of England (1050s–1100), called "William Rufus"
• Alan Rufus (c. 1040–1089), companion of William the Conqueror
• Richard Rufus of Cornwall (died 1260), English scholastic philosopher and theologian
• Roger Squires, crossword compiler nicknamed Rufus

• Rufus the Hawk, a bird used to keep pigeons away from the tennis grass courts at Wimbledon

• the demon core, the plutonium nuclear weapon core that was involved in two deadly nuclear accidents, was originally nicknamed "Rufus"

• Rufus (Street Fighter), one of four new fighters in Street Fighter IV
• Rufus the Bobcat, the mascot for Ohio University
• Rufus, a naked mole rat from Disney's TV show Kim Possible; see List of Kim Possible characters
• Rufus McCallister, a character in Ninjago
• Rufus Carlin, a main character in the 2016 NBC show Timeless
• Rufus Moffat, title character of the book Rufus M. by Eleanor Estes
• Rufus Ruffcut, from Hanna-Barbera's TV show Wacky Races
• Rufus Scrimgeour, from the Harry Potter universe; see Ministry of Magic
• Rufus Shinra, from the Final Fantasy VII video games; see Characters of the Final Fantasy VII series
• Rufus Turner, from the American television drama Supernatural; see List of Supernatural characters
• Rufus XIV, King of Rubovia, in the 1955 British children's television series A Rubovian Legend
• Rufus, from the film The Rescuers
• Rufus, the forgotten 13th apostle in the film Dogma, played by Chris Rock
• Rufus, protagonist of the children's cartoon series The Dreamstone
• Rufus, time traveler in the films Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, played by George Carlin
  • Rufus, time traveler in the television Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1992 TV series), an adaptation of the above film, played by Rick Overton
• Rufus Humphrey, a character in Gossip Girl
• Rufus, a character in the movie Kill Bill: Volume 2, played by Samuel L. Jackson
• Rufus T. Firefly, a character in the 1933 film Duck Soup, played by Groucho Marx

• Saint Rufus (disambiguation)
• All pages with titles beginning with Rufus