Rufus Sewell
There are approximately 1 people named Rufus Sewell living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Rufus with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Sewell. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Rufus
13K
Alive today
Named Sewell
25K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 13K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1922
Average age: 65
Top Census group: Black or African American (57.2%)
Estimated bearers: 25K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,632
Per 100K: 7.15
Top ancestry: White (65.7%)
First name trend
Rufus: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Rufus. The peak year was 1922 with 746 births. The average person named Rufus today is 65 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rufus
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Rufus, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 57.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rufus described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Rufus at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American57.2% · 6,126
- White35.4% · 3,794
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 306
- Two or more races2.5% · 270
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 107
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Sewell surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Sewell, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 65.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Sewell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Sewell at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White65.7% · 14,041
- Black or African American24.2% · 5,170
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,068
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 712
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 218
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 159
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Rufus has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0038% of the US population, based on 13,008 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Rufus right now.
The surname Sewell appears at a rate of 7.15 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0071%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Rufus Sewell. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Rufus Sewell: questions and answers
How many people are named Rufus Sewell?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Rufus Sewell. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0038%) with the surname frequency (7.15 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Rufus Sewell?
We classify Rufus Sewell as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Rufus a male or female name?
Rufus is predominantly male. Out of 36,196 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Rufus profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Rufus Sewell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.