Ruffini is a surname of Italian origin that is documented from the Middle Ages and that presents several related forms: Ruffo, Ruffino, Ruffoni, Ruffolo, among others. All of them derive, directly or indirectly, from the ancient Latin cognomen Rufus, which meant "red" or "red-haired," applied originally as a byname to designate the colour of a person's hair or beard.

The Latin name Rufus evolved in the medieval period to Rufinus (an affectionate or diminutive form), and from there to the Italian forms Ruffino and Ruffini, which subsequently gave rise to the surnames.

During the 4th and 5th centuries, the name Ruffino spread widely due to the cult of Saint Rufinus (Rufinus), associated with the patriarch of Aquileia and with other martyrs and bishops venerated in different regions of Italy.
Its ecclesiastical prestige favoured the transmission of the name as a personal name, which finally came to be fixed as a surname.

In medieval documents of northern Italy (11th–13th centuries), the form Rufinus is observed as a personal name and Ruffinus / Ruffini as a family designation, especially in agrarian contracts, investitures and parish registers of the Pavia area, Vetto (Reggio Emilia), and the Lombard alpine areas.

Meaning

• Rufus → "red," "of reddish hair or beard."
• Rufinus → medieval affectionate diminutive.
• Ruffini → "the descendants of Rufino."

Therefore, Ruffini is a patronymic surname, that is, it indicates descent from an ancestor named Ruffino.

Variants and related surnames

The main variants are linked to the geographic zone and to the linguistic form that was consolidated in each region: