Ruffin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Ruffin surname is a Scottish habitation name. That is, the surname is derived from a place name. Some suggest the name is derived from the lands in Perthshire long held by this family.

Early Origins of the Ruffin family

The surname Ruffin was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), at Ruthven, a parish in the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire. This noble Scottish family claims to trace its ancestry to Thor, the Scandinavian, who settled in Scotland in the reign of David I (12th C.) 1 It is thought that they held the Barony of Ruthven in Angus about 1050, and then branched into Perthshire.

Early History of the Ruffin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ruffin research. Another 227 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1488, 1520, 1528, 1541, 1552, 1566, 1577, 1582, 1584, 1600, 1641, 1651, 1671, 1673, 1701, 1769, 1772, 1800, 1816, 1819, 1833, 1835, 1836, 1838, 1840, 1919 and 1921 are included under the topic Early Ruffin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ruffin Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ruthven, Ruthen, Ruthin, Wruthven, Wruthen, Rutheven, Rotheven, Rothveyn and many more.

Early Notables of the Ruffin family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven (died c. 1528), a Scottish nobleman, Privy Counsellor of Scotland; William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven (died 1552), a Scottish nobleman, Extraordinary Lord of Session and Keeper of the Privy Seal; Patrick Ruthven (ca.1520-1566) 3rd Lord of Ruthven, Privy Councillor to Mary Queen of Scots; William Ruthven (1541-1584) 4th Lord Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie; John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (c.1577-1600), a Scottish nobleman who was killed while...
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ruffin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ruffin Ranking

In the United States, the name Ruffin is the 1,416^th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Ruffin is ranked the 2,250^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,849 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Ruffin family to Ireland

Some of the Ruffin family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ruffin migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ruffin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Eliz Ruffin, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 4
Robert Ruffin, who settled in Virginia in 1679

Ruffin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hans Ruffin, aged 7, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 4
Elesbat Ruffin, aged 12, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 4
Anna Maria Ruffin, who landed in South Carolina in 1749 4
Catharina Ruffin, who arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1753 4

Ruffin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Ruffin, who was on record in Philadelphia in 1811
Santiago Ruffin, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1816 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Ruffin (post 1700) +

Josephine Ruffin, American civil rights leader
David Ruffin, American Motown singer who was one of the lead singers with "The Temptations"
Edmund Ruffin, Confederate farmer and slaveholder from Virginia
Edmund Ruffin (1794-1865), American wealthy Virginia planter who served in the Virginia Senate from 1823 to 1827
François Amable Ruffin, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 5
Bruce Ruffin, Reggae singer
William Ruffin Cox (1831-1919), American Democratic Party politician, District Judge in North Carolina 4th District, 1874-75; U.S. Representative from North Carolina 4th District, 1881-87 6
Ruffin Golson Pleasant (1871-1937), American politician, 36th Governor of Louisiana from 1916–1920

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, September 9) François Ruffin. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html