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

Rudolph, 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 Rudolph surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rudolph in America

Rudolph is the 1808th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rudolph surname appeared 19,854 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Rudolph.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rudolph 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 Rudolph

The surname RUDOLPH is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old German words "hruod" meaning "fame" and "wolf" meaning "wolf." It is believed to have originated in the 7th or 8th century in what is now southern Germany and parts of Austria.

In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled as Ruodolphus or Ruodwulf. Over time, variations such as Rudolff, Rudolphe, and Rodolphe emerged in different regions. The name was particularly popular among the nobility and ruling classes during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name RUDOLPH can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Duchy of Austria, dating back to the 10th century. It mentions a nobleman named Rudolfus who held lands in the region now known as Lower Austria.

In England, the RUDOLPH surname is first recorded in the early 13th century, likely introduced by Norman settlers. The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain any instances of the name, suggesting it arrived in England after the Norman Conquest.

Notable individuals with the RUDOLPH surname throughout history include:

1. Rudolf I (1218-1291), a German king who ruled as the first monarch of the House of Habsburg from 1273 until his death.

2. Rudolf II (1552-1612), Holy Roman Emperor from 1576 to 1612, known for his patronage of the arts and his interest in alchemy and the occult.

3. Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902), a German physician and anthropologist, considered one of the founders of modern pathology and a pioneer in the field of public health.

4. Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913), a German inventor and mechanical engineer, best known for his invention of the diesel engine.

5. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian philosopher and social reformer, best known for his theory of anthroposophy and his work in education and agriculture.

The name RUDOLPH has also been associated with various place names, such as Rudolfsheim, a district in Vienna, Austria, and Rudolfstadt, a town in Thuringia, Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rudolph

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

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 Rudolph 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 Rudolph 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 Rudolph was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!