Rui is a distinctive choice, ranked #1466 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Rui in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1466
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About the Name Rui
Rui has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 945 places in five years. It was most popular in 2004 at #841 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1997.
Rui is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Rui in their class.
Rui Borges — Rui Manuel Gomes Borges is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.
Mário Rui — Mário Rui Silva Duarte, known as Mário Rui, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left-back.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Rui
Unlikely. With around 18 UK babies named Rui per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Rui in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Rui is rising: up 762 places since 2020, to #1,466 in 2025. Its best recorded position was #841 in 2004.
Rui is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Rui include: Rui Cardoso (footballer, born 1994), Rui Borges and Mário Rui. Short summaries for each appear below.
Rui does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Ruis in the wild.
18
UK babies named Rui (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
< 1
In a school of 600
↑ 762 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Rui
Almost certainly the only Rui in the class
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UK Popularity (1997–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Rui
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Rui Hachimura (Japanese: 八村 塁, Hepburn: Hachimura Rui; Japanese: [hatɕiꜜmɯɾa ɾɯꜜi], born February 8, 1998) is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Hai Rui, courtesy name Ru Xian (汝賢), art name Gang Feng (剛峰), was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Ming dynasty, remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office.
Rui Tiago Dantas da Silva is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Portugal national team.