Ralph

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Ralph is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English Rædwulf and Old High German Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse Raðulfr. The most common forms are: Ralph, the common variant form in English, which takes either of the given pronunciations.

From Wikipedia

Ralph first appears in the data in 1953 and has been recorded in 4 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1953 with 51 babies (rank #100 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Ralph

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Ralph yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

1Destiny numberThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
9PersonalityThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Ralph

Ralph Waldo EmersonUnitarian pastor · b. 1803
Ralph Fiennesproducer · b. 1962
Ralph Bunchepolitical scientist · b. 1904
Ralph Steinmanimmunologist · b. 1943
Ralph Ellisonautobiographer · b. 1914

Share your Ralph story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with R

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1953	51	#100
2015	2	#701
2016	3	#499
2017	1	#1,977