Name
Rudolph
Meaning
Rudolph is a masculine name of Germanic origin meaning “famous wolf”.
Rudolph unites the Germanic hrod, fame, with wulf, making its bearer a famous wolf, a name carried by Habsburg emperors and the silent-film idol Rudolph Valentino. The red-nosed reindeer, invented for a 1939 store promotion, permanently changed how English speakers hear it.
A US top-100 name in the 1910s; rare for newborns today.
Popularity in the United States
Boys
Ranked #987 in 1992 · peak #623 in 1980
Data: US Social Security Administration, top-1000 ranks.
At a glance
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Questions
Rudolph is a masculine name of Germanic origin meaning “famous wolf”. Rudolph unites the Germanic hrod, fame, with wulf, making its bearer a famous wolf, a name carried by Habsburg emperors and the silent-film idol Rudolph Valentino.
Rudolph is traditionally a masculine (boy) name. It is a US top-100 name in the 1910s; rare for newborns today.
The name Rudolph comes from Germanic. Rudolph unites the Germanic hrod, fame, with wulf, making its bearer a famous wolf, a name carried by Habsburg emperors and the silent-film idol Rudolph Valentino. The red-nosed reindeer, invented for a 1939 store promotion, permanently changed how English speakers hear it.
Rudolph is pronounced ROO-dolf.
More names that mean wolf
Names that share this meaning.