Ralls
A masculine name of unknown origin, potentially related to the English word "rail".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Ralls. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ralls today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ralls births was 1925 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ralls. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ralls. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1925
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1925 SSA rank
#4,745
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Ralls: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ralls by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ralls during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ralls
The name Ralls is thought to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic tribes in Scandinavia and parts of modern-day Britain during the Viking Age (793-1066 AD). It is believed to be a variant of the Old Norse name Raldr, which itself is derived from the word "ráð," meaning "counsel" or "advice."
Ralls may have evolved as a diminutive or shortened form of Raldr, with the addition of the "-s" suffix, which was a common practice in Old Norse naming traditions. The name likely spread to other regions through Viking explorations and settlements across Europe and the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ralls was a Norwegian chieftain named Ralls Eriksson, who lived in the late 10th century. He is mentioned in the Icelandic sagas as a prominent figure in the settlement of Greenland.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ralls the Red, a Viking warrior and explorer from Denmark who is said to have led an expedition to the coast of North America around the year 1000 AD, predating the voyages of Christopher Columbus by nearly five centuries.
In the 12th century, a monk named Ralls of Hexham gained recognition for his writings on the history and customs of the people of Northumbria in England. His work, known as the "Historia Regum Anglorum," provided valuable insights into the cultural and linguistic influences of the Viking settlers in that region.
During the Middle Ages, the name Ralls appeared in various records and chronicles across Northern Europe, particularly in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. One notable figure was Ralls Gudmundsson, a 14th-century Icelandic lawspeaker and chieftain who played a significant role in the governance of the Icelandic Commonwealth.
In more recent times, the name Ralls has been relatively uncommon, but it has been borne by a few individuals of note. One example is Ralls Woodfin, an American politician who served as the mayor of Asheville, North Carolina, from 1941 to 1951.
People
Ralls + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ralls as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ralls: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ralls?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ralls going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Ralls a common name?
We classify Ralls as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ralls most popular?
The single biggest year for Ralls was 1925, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ralls is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ralls in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ralls a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ralls in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ralls still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ralls in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ralls can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Ralls?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.