# Rudolf (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/rudolf/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Czech |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | Rudi |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 2,951 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,951 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 60, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Czech Rudolf and German Rudolf.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 5 | 13,624 |
| 2007 | 8 | 9,593 |
| 2008 | 8 | 9,690 |
| 2009 | 6 | 12,182 |
| 2010 | 6 | 11,913 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,686 |
| 2016 | 7 | 10,523 |
| 2017 | 8 | 9,525 |
| 2018 | 8 | 9,502 |
| 2019 | 7 | 10,592 |
| 2020 | 8 | 9,395 |
| 2021 | 5 | 13,710 |
| 2022 | 8 | 9,668 |
| 2023 | 6 | 11,977 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12,080 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 3 | 3,651 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |
| 2010 | 3 | 4,678 |
| 2011 | 4 | 3,830 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2015 | 5 | 3,373 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,023 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,040 |
| 2018 | 6 | 3,011 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4,702 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,001 |
| 2023 | 5 | 3,523 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,275 |

## People named Rudolf

- Rudolf Christoph Eucken, (1846-1926) German philosopher
- Rudolf Diesel, German inventor and mechanical engineer (1858–1913)
- Rudolf Hess, German Nazi leader and Reich Minister without Portfolio (1894–1987)
- Rudolf Steiner, Austrian social reformer, occultist and esotericist (1861–1925)
- Rudolf Clausius, German mathematical physicist and professor (1822–1888)
- Rudolf Virchow, German doctor, anthropologist, public health activist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologis
- Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer, German nuclear physicist and Noble Prize in Physics
- Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Austrian archduke (1858-1889)
- Rudolf Laban, Austrian choreographer (1879-1958)
- Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian diplomat, politician, judge, and eighth President of Austria (1915–2000)
- Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch alchemist (1604-1670)
- Rudolf Dassler, German businessman (1898–1974)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.