Rudolph
Rudolph was the 4231st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 25 babies. Its best year was 1927, when it ranked 110th with 1,690 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,323 places. More babies were named Rudolph in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning "famous wolf" · Germanic, German
Say it ROO-dahlf /ˈrudɑlf/
- Rank in 2025
- #4,231 boys, down 438 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 25boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19271,690 babies
- Total since 1880
- 53,638babies recorded
What does the name Rudolph mean?
Rudolph is the English spelling of the German Rudolf, an old Germanic name from hrōþ, "fame", and wulf, "wolf". DMNES lists medieval kings and Habsburg rulers named Rudolf and notes confusion with Ralph, which has a similar origin. Rudolph was most popular in the US in the 1910s and 1920s; since 1939 it has also been the name of Santa's red-nosed reindeer.
hruod (Old High German, “fame”)wolf (Old High German, “wolf”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Rudolf, Rudy, Rodolfo, Ralph, Dolph.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean fame, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Rudolph', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Rudolf', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wikipedia, 'Rudolph (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for Rudolph
The usual nicknames for Rudolph are Rudy and Dolph. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Rudolph in the last five years, 1082 were named Rudy, against 605 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudy · also for Rodolfo | Traditional | #739 | 1,537 |
| Dolph · also for Randolph | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Rudolphs go by each one.
Rudolph popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 197 since 1914.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,231 | 25 |
| 2020 | #3,793 | 28 |
| 2010 | #3,433 | 32 |
| 2000 | #1,638 | 72 |
| 1990 | #848 | 146 |
| 1980 | #625 | 196 |
| 1970 | #462 | 309 |
| 1960 | #377 | 442 |
| 1950 | #239 | 756 |
| 1940 | #206 | 622 |
| 1930 | #140 | 1,219 |
| 1920 | #169 | 830 |
| 1910 | #147 | 218 |
| 1900 | #145 | 147 |
| 1890 | #154 | 92 |
| 1880 | #218 | 54 |
How popular is Rudolph, counting every spelling?
Rudolph is the most common spelling of a name family that had 25 boys in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 25 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudolph | 25 | #4,231 | 142 |
| Rudolf | — | — | 25 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Rudolph?
25 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rudolph (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Rudolph born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 337 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rudolph.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Rudolph?
About 16,700 people born in the US named Rudolph are alive today, with a median age of 66; half are between 49 and 76. That makes Rudolph a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Rudolph by state
How common Rudolph was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. In 49 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Rudolph: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rudolph, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Rudolph · Sibling names for Rudolph
Questions about the name Rudolph
What does Rudolph mean?
Rudolph means “"famous wolf"” (Germanic, German origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Rudolph?
Rudolph was the 4231st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 25 babies. Its best year was 1927, when it ranked 110th with 1,690 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,323 places. More babies were named Rudolph in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Rudolph a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Rudolph in the US.
Where is Rudolph most popular?
In 2021–2025, Rudolph was most common in Texas (0.01 per 1,000 boys), followed by California and California.