Find out how popular the last name Rudolf is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rudolf.

Rudolf, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rudolf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rudolf in America

Rudolf is the 21080th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rudolf surname appeared 1,246 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Rudolf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rudolf to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rudolf

The surname Rudolf has its origins in the Germanic language and is derived from the elements "hruod" meaning "fame" and "wulf" meaning "wolf". It was originally a personal name that later became a hereditary surname.

The name can be traced back to the 8th century and was initially found in areas that are now parts of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Early records show variations in spelling, such as Rodolf, Rudolph, and Ruodolf.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the 9th century, which mentions a person named Ruodolfus.

During the Middle Ages, the name gained prominence with several notable figures bearing it. Rudolf I, also known as Rudolf of Habsburg (1218-1291), was the first King of the Romans from the House of Habsburg. He played a significant role in the consolidation of the Habsburg dynasty in Central Europe.

Another notable figure was Rudolf II (1552-1612), the Holy Roman Emperor who was known for his patronage of the arts and sciences during the Renaissance period. His reign saw the rise of Prague as a cultural center in Europe.

In the 16th century, Rudolf Agricola (1444-1485), a Dutch humanist and philosopher, made significant contributions to the study of logic and rhetoric. His works influenced the intellectual discourse of the time.

The name also found its way into literature, with Rudolf Erich Raspe (1737-1794), a German writer and librarian, best known for his fictional work "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen".

In the 19th century, Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902), a German physician and anthropologist, made groundbreaking contributions to the field of pathology and is regarded as one of the founders of modern scientific medicine.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the surname Rudolf throughout history, showcasing its prevalence and significance across various fields and regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rudolf

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rudolf.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rudolf was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rudolf has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rudolf was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rudolf, please contact us.

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