Rodolph
Of German origin, a masculine name meaning "famous wolf".
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Rodolph. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rodolph today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rodolph births was 1927 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rodolph. 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
- • The typical person named Rodolph is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rodolphs were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rodolph. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
1927
18 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1971 SSA rank
#4,811
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Rodolph: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rodolph from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 86 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rodolph 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 Rodolph during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rodolph
The given name Rodolph originated from the Germanic languages, tracing its roots back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old High German name "Rodolf" or "Hrodulf," composed of the elements "hruod" meaning "fame" or "glory" and "wulf" meaning "wolf." This combination suggests the name translates to "famous wolf" or "glory wolf."
The earliest recorded use of the name Rodolph can be found in ancient Germanic texts and chronicles from the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Rodolph I of Burgundy, who ruled as the King of Upper and Lower Burgundy from 888 to 912 AD.
In the 12th century, the name gained prominence with Rodolph of Hapsburg, who became the first King of the Romans and the Holy Roman Emperor in 1273. His reign marked the rise of the influential Habsburg dynasty in Central Europe.
Another notable figure in history was Rodolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1576 to 1612. He was a patron of the arts, sciences, and occult studies during the Renaissance period.
The name Rodolph also appeared in literature, such as the 16th-century play "The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus" by William Shakespeare, where one of the characters bears this name.
Among other prominent individuals with the name Rodolph were Rodolph Valentino (1895-1926), an Italian-American actor known as the "Great Lover" of the silent film era, and Rodolph Bing (1902-1997), a German-American opera impresario who served as the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera from 1950 to 1972.
While the name Rodolph has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Rudolf, Rudolph, and Rodolfo, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the Germanic cultural traditions, reflecting the ideals of fame, glory, and strength associated with the symbolic wolf.
People
Rodolph + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rodolph 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
Rodolph: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rodolph?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rodolph 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 1 in 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Rodolph a common name?
We classify Rodolph as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 189 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rodolph most popular?
The single biggest year for Rodolph was 1927, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rodolph is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rodolph a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rodolph 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.
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.