Rufus

Name: Rufus, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈɹuːfəs/

//ˈɹuːfəs// name

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“Rufus” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,443. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,443
frequency rank, English: 3,094
“R” headwords: 7
tracked misspellings: 11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Either of two persons mentioned in the New Testament (in Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13).

Corpus desk

Index EN-rufus · Rufus · English

Rufus · rank #19,443 · 7 variants · 11 confusables

FREQ-MID #19,443
LEN-MID 5 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
VAR-MID 7 variants
BOOK-MID 3,094
PHOTO-FINISH routed

Nearest frequency peer: routed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

roc

80,562
rooster

80,560
routed

80,559
Rufus

80,558
rushes

80,557
sakura

80,554

What this shows “Rufus” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Rufus vs Rus

60% similar

Rufus vs runs

40% similar

Rufus vs Russ

60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Rufus
Property	Value
Headword	Rufus
Language	English
Part of speech	Proper noun
IPA	/ˈɹuːfəs/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#19,443
Misspellings tracked	7
Confusable pairs	11
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Rufus”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Rufuslands here:

#19,443

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “routed” (#19,442), “rushes” (#19,444), “rooster” (#19,441). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “Rufus” is #19,443. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Rufus (IPA /ˈɹuːfəs/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #19,443 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Rufus, with forms such as "rfuus", "rrufus", and "ruffus". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Rus", "runs", "Russ", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin rūfus (“red”). The correct English form is Rufus, spelled R-U-F-U-S.

Definition

1
Either of two persons mentioned in the New Testament (in Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13).
2
A male given name from Latin, used since the seventeenth century.
3
A minor city in Sherman County, Oregon, United States.
4
A locality in the Wentworth council area, south western New South Wales, Australia.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Rufus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

Etymology

From Latin rūfus (“red”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

rfuus
rrufus
ruffus
rufsu
rufuss
ruufs
urfus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Rufus - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "Rufus"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Rufus"?

"Rufus" is spelled R-U-F-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹuːfəs/.

What does "Rufus" mean?

As a proper noun, "Rufus" means: Either of two persons mentioned in the New Testament (in Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13).

What words are commonly confused with "Rufus"?

"Rufus" is commonly confused with "Rus", "runs", "Russ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "Rufus"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Rufus" is /ˈɹuːfəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "Rufus"?

From Latin rūfus (“red”). See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Rufus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reins#19,436 scuba#19,452 shite#19,459 pious#19,417

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

overt7 variants Ortiz7 variants thine7 variants muzzle7 variants