Rudolf

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Rudolph or Rudolf or Rodolphe is a male first name, and, less commonly, a surname. It is an ancient Germanic name deriving from two stems: Hrōþi, Hruod, Hróðr or Hrōð, meaning "fame", "glory" "honour", "renown", and olf meaning "wolf".

From Wikipedia

Rudolf first appears in the data in 1882 and has been recorded in 123 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1927 with 82 babies (rank #720 that year). In 2024 it was given to 6 boys (rank #12,029). Its popularity has been fairly steady recently.

Numerology of Rudolf

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

4Destiny numberThe builderPractical, steady, gets results through hard work.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
9Soul urgeThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
22PersonalityThe master builderTurns visions into structures — a heightened 4.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

2,951

Total babies (all years)

123

Years in the data

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Rudolf

Rudolf Christoph Euckenprose writer · b. 1846
Rudolf DieselEsperantist · b. 1858
Rudolf Hessaircraft pilot · b. 1894
Rudolf Steinertheosophist · b. 1861
Rudolf Clausiustheoretical physicist · b. 1822

Share your Rudolf story

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

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Rudolf in 2024

Other boys' names starting with R

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1882	5	#1,067
1887	6	#899
1892	5	#1,227
1896	5	#1,239
1898	7	#979
1902	5	#1,288
1903	10	#770
1904	6	#1,182
1905	5	#1,394
1906	8	#986
1907	8	#1,078
1908	6	#1,348
1909	14	#800
1910	8	#1,290
1911	18	#789
1912	31	#795
1913	21	#1,142
1914	39	#882
1915	65	#748
1916	70	#723
1917	55	#862
1918	51	#937
1919	49	#970
1920	42	#1,107
1921	39	#1,155
1922	49	#1,018
1923	62	#869
1924	49	#1,016
1925	55	#913
1926	66	#820
1927	82	#720
1928	73	#762
1929	68	#787
1930	67	#792
1931	49	#937
1932	46	#977
1933	34	#1,142
1934	41	#1,020
1935	34	#1,145
1936	40	#1,008
1937	37	#1,070
1938	36	#1,092
1939	35	#1,100
1940	35	#1,126
1941	43	#985
1942	44	#1,021
1943	27	#1,361
1944	25	#1,361
1945	33	#1,159
1946	24	#1,467
1947	29	#1,390
1948	29	#1,376
1949	34	#1,250
1950	41	#1,121
1951	30	#1,370
1952	47	#1,065
1953	33	#1,326
1954	36	#1,265
1955	31	#1,392
1956	30	#1,439
1957	36	#1,316
1958	39	#1,250
1959	26	#1,582
1960	18	#1,962
1961	28	#1,544
1962	32	#1,400
1963	31	#1,419
1964	18	#1,962
1965	22	#1,712
1966	16	#2,028
1967	19	#1,842
1968	23	#1,686
1969	14	#2,399
1970	25	#1,787
1971	25	#1,817
1972	20	#2,064
1973	16	#2,488
1974	9	#3,772
1975	15	#2,734
1976	7	#4,834
1977	17	#2,640
1978	17	#2,649
1979	22	#2,297
1980	19	#2,601
1981	12	#3,573
1982	8	#4,920
1983	16	#2,890
1984	13	#3,411
1985	11	#3,998
1986	12	#3,836
1987	16	#3,171
1988	14	#3,671
1989	16	#3,588
1990	9	#5,727
1991	11	#5,031
1992	11	#5,178
1993	9	#6,127
1994	12	#5,058
1995	8	#6,863
1996	10	#5,885
1997	8	#7,148
1998	14	#4,824
1999	12	#5,586
2000	8	#8,056
2002	11	#6,439
2003	5	#12,394
2004	8	#8,765
2005	10	#7,542
2006	5	#13,622
2007	8	#9,593
2008	8	#9,690
2009	6	#12,182
2010	6	#11,912
2013	5	#13,683
2016	7	#10,521
2017	8	#9,521
2018	8	#9,500
2019	7	#10,585
2020	8	#9,387
2021	5	#13,705
2022	8	#9,664
2023	6	#11,967
2024	6	#12,029