Rufus

This just sounds like a hillbilly name to me along with Billie Joe or Billy Joe (whichever way you spell that).

This has been one of my all time favourites for as long as I can remember. I had a friend called Rufus when I was very young, about 5 years old, who left the area and I never saw or heard from again, but his name has stuck with me all these years!!

I Like the name but on many occasions separate people have said it sounds like a dog name. Also it does have a dog-barking onomatopoeic aspect to it "Roof Roof Roofus"

I like Rufus a lot. It has sort of a rumpled, tousled, amiable aristocrat vibe to me, like Rupert's sexy younger brother.

The main thing that comes to mind with Rufus is the naked mole rat in the cartoon Kim Possible. Fledgling name nerd-me had always thought that he was very aptly named, since Rufus has a sort of sniffy ratlike sound and look to the name. I still kind of think that, although I've also come to see it as an alternative rock and roller-sounding name, or a satirical-stuffy-British upper-class nobility name.

I can sort of see where the appeal is with Rufus, but I don't really like the name either. Aside from the associations I've mentioned, it also sounds to me like "Roof us". Rupert is a similar-sounding name to Rufus that I prefer much better.

I agree! I informally polled my friends a few years ago and got an overwhelmingly "sounds like a dog's name" response, so I was put off of it temporarily. But I keep on coming back to it and can't seem to forget it, so I think I may just ignore that unfortunate connotation! It's a solid, manly name with a long history---I think a little boy would be lucky to wear it.

True. I guess it's just a personal assocation.

Yeees! Schoolhouse rock!

Any human name can be a dog`s name.

Rufus and Doofus sounds so much alike that I would be afraid a child would be teased unmercifully.

That was my friend's cat's name....but he was black and white. Anyway, I think it's an animal name, too.

I love ginger cats so I'll have to reserve this name for my next cat

Rufus Xavier Sasparilla anyone?

Okay, I feel as though I need to come to the defense of Rufus! It's a very handsome name, in my opinion. Charming, vintage, spunky. Yes, there have many people that have named their dogs Rufus, but so do people name their dogs Lucy and Stella and Jake, and yet we don't identify those as "dog names." It has its roots in Ancient Rome and has been borne by many prominent people. And, for added personal favor, it's my great-grandfather's name, so yes, I'm partial! But I hate to see such a classy, wonderful, historical name such as Rufus get belittled to nothing more than a name you give your dog.

Can we all acknowledge that this sounds like the perfect name for a naked mole rat? Ewwww.

my dog was named Rufus :P

I like Rufus but I'd never use it because of how it reminds me of a dog!

I'm probably alone here, but I really don't see the appeal of this name. It sounds like a name you'd give to a dog.

Charming.

Rufus is also the name of the naked mole rat on the Kim Possible cartoon :)

I'm neutral on Rufus. It's also the name of the Barton Boutique cat from the anime-based site, Gaia Online.

LOVE this name. Cute, traditional, masculine... Mmmm.