2000
#1,688
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,462
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.21
Uncommon Last name
Rudolph
A Germanic surname derived from the given name Rudolf, meaning "fame" and "wolf".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,566 Americans carry the last name Rudolph. That puts it at #1,872 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,893 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rudolph surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rudolph with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,893
Census rank
#1,872
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,807 bearers of the surname Rudolph in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1872nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rudolph, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rudolph
Among Census respondents with the surname Rudolph, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rudolph bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rudolph surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 13,344
- Black or African American20.7% · 3,901
- Two or more races3.4% · 648
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 594
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 258
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rudolph
Rudolph appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,854
+392 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 6.73
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#1,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,807
-1,047 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 6.29
Rank movement Down 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,688 | 19,462 | 7.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,808 | 19,854 | 6.73 | +392 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #1,872 | 18,807 | 6.29 | -1,047 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 64 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rudolph surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,808 | #1,872 | -3.5% |
| Count | 19,854 | 18,807 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.73 | 6.29 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rudolph bearers went from 19,854 to 18,807 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,808 to #1,872.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rudolph
FAQ
Rudolph surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rudolph?
Name Census estimates that about 21,566 living Americans carry the surname Rudolph. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,893 residents.
How common is Rudolph?
Rudolph ranks #1,872 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,807 people with the surname Rudolph. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,566), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Rudolph.
Has Rudolph become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rudolph went from 19,854 recorded bearers to 18,807. That is a decrease of 1,047 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,808 to #1,872.
What does the Census say about the background of Rudolph?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rudolph, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rudolph in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (13,344 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rudolph appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.0%), Black (20.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rudolph (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rudolph mean?
A Germanic surname derived from the given name Rudolf, meaning "fame" and "wolf". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rudolph (6.29 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Rudolph?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.