Rudi
A masculine German diminutive of Rudolf, meaning "famous wolf".
Name Census estimates that about 1,137 living Americans carry the first name Rudi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Rudi today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rudi births was 1986 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rudi. 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
- • Rudi sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 301,455 Americans
Peak year
1986
41 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,855
Tracked since 1931
Gender
Gender distribution for Rudi
Rudi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,228 total registrations, 753 (61.3%) were male and 475 (38.7%) were female.
Rudi as a male name
- Ranked #10,673 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (19 births)
Rudi as a female name
- Ranked #6,855 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1986 (27 births)
Popularity
Rudi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rudi from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 270 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Rudi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rudi 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 Rudi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rudis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Rudi, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rudi
The name Rudi has its origins in the German language and is a diminutive form of the name Rudolf. The name Rudolf is derived from the Germanic elements "hruod" meaning "fame" and "wolf" meaning "wolf". Together, these elements combine to form the meaning "famous wolf".
The name Rudi first rose to prominence in the Middle Ages, with the earliest recorded use of the name Rudolf dating back to the 7th century. One of the most notable historical figures to bear the name Rudolf was Rudolf I of Germany, who reigned as the King of Germany from 1273 to 1291.
In the 15th century, the humanist scholar Rudolf Agricola (1444-1485) was a prominent figure in the Renaissance movement in Europe. His works on logic and rhetoric had a significant influence on the development of humanist thought during this period.
Another famous bearer of the name Rudolf was the Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1858-1889), who was the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary and heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He is best known for his involvement in the Mayerling Incident, which remains a subject of historical debate and controversy.
In the realm of music, the composer Rudolf Serkin (1903-1991) was a highly acclaimed pianist and interpreter of works by composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart. His performances and recordings are considered among the finest of the 20th century.
Finally, the name Rudi was also borne by the German footballer Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (born 1960), who played as a striker for several top clubs in Germany and represented the national team at multiple World Cup tournaments.
These examples illustrate the enduring popularity and historical significance of the name Rudi, which has been carried by notable figures across various fields throughout the centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rudi
People
Rudi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rudi 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
Rudi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rudi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,137 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rudi 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 301,455 US residents.
Is Rudi a common name?
We classify Rudi as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,228 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rudi most popular?
The single biggest year for Rudi was 1986, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rudi is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rudi a male name?
Yes, 61.3% of people registered as Rudi 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.