Rudolpho
A Germanic name meaning "famous wolf" or "glory wolf".
Name Census estimates that about 296 living Americans carry the first name Rudolpho. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rudolpho today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rudolpho births was 1977 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rudolpho. 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.
People living today
296
~ 1 in 1,157,954 Americans
Peak year
1977
13 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2006 SSA rank
#11,767
Tracked since 1923
Census
Rudolpho in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 440 people with the first name Rudolpho, which placed it at #22,573 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,573
National first-name rank
People counted
440
440 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rudolpho
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rudolpho is Hispanic at 86.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rudolpho described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rudolpho at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.6% · 381
- White5.7% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 23
- Black or African American2.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Rudolpho: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rudolpho from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rudolpho 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 Rudolpho during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rudolphos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rudolpho
The name Rudolpho has its origins in the Germanic languages, particularly in Old High German. It is derived from the elements "hruod" meaning "fame" or "glory" and "wolf" meaning "wolf." The name can be translated to mean "famous wolf" or "glory wolf."
In the early medieval period, the name was likely used among the Germanic tribes that inhabited parts of present-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Hruodwulf" in the 8th century.
While there are no direct references to the name in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is notable that the element "wolf" was often associated with strength, courage, and leadership in Germanic mythology and folklore.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Rudolpho was Rudolph I, Count of Habsburg, who lived from 1218 to 1291. He was the founder of the Habsburg dynasty, which ruled over large parts of Europe for centuries.
Another notable figure was Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor, who reigned from 1576 to 1612. He was known for his patronage of the arts and sciences, and his court in Prague became a center of cultural and intellectual activity.
In the 16th century, Rudolpho Agricola, a Dutch humanist and philosopher, made significant contributions to the field of education and the study of classical literature. He lived from 1443 to 1485.
The name Rudolpho also has a connection to the legend of Santa Claus, as one of his reindeer is named Rudolph. The character first appeared in a poem by Robert L. May in 1939, and later became popularized through the famous song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
In the realm of literature, Rudolpho Anaya, an American author of Hispanic descent, is known for his works exploring the cultural heritage and experiences of the Chicano community. He was born in 1937 and is still active as a writer and educator.
People
Rudolpho + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rudolpho 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
Rudolpho: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rudolpho?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 296 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rudolpho 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 1,157,954 US residents.
Is Rudolpho a common name?
We classify Rudolpho as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 385 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rudolpho most popular?
The single biggest year for Rudolpho was 1977, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rudolpho is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rudolpho in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 440 people with the name Rudolpho, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,573 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rudolpho in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rudolpho?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rudolpho appears almost entirely male. Of the 444 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rudolpho?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rudolpho is Hispanic at 86.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rudolpho most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rudolpho in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (381 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Rudolpho in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rudolpho a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rudolpho 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 Rudolpho still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rudolpho 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 Rudolpho 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.
How many people have Rudolpho as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Rudolpho on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.