Name
Ralph
Meaning
Ralph is a masculine name of Old Norse origin meaning “wolf counsel”.
Ralph descends from the Old Norse Ráðúlfr, joining rad, counsel, with ulfr, wolf, and arrived in England with the Vikings and again with the Normans. From philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson to designer Ralph Lauren, it has been a dependable English standard for a thousand years.
A US top-30 name in the early twentieth century; now an underused classic.
Popularity in the United States
Boys
Ranked #950 in 2018 · peak #229 in 1980
Data: US Social Security Administration, top-1000 ranks.
At a glance
- Origin
- Old Norse
- Gender
- Masculine
- Pronounced
- /RALF/
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Questions
Ralph is a masculine name of Old Norse origin meaning “wolf counsel”. Ralph descends from the Old Norse Ráðúlfr, joining rad, counsel, with ulfr, wolf, and arrived in England with the Vikings and again with the Normans.
Ralph is traditionally a masculine (boy) name. It is a US top-30 name in the early twentieth century; now an underused classic.
The name Ralph comes from Old Norse. Ralph descends from the Old Norse Ráðúlfr, joining rad, counsel, with ulfr, wolf, and arrived in England with the Vikings and again with the Normans. From philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson to designer Ralph Lauren, it has been a dependable English standard for a thousand years.
Ralph is pronounced RALF.
More names that mean wolf
Names that share this meaning.