# Rudolph (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/rudolph/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 19,854 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,808 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 15,551 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.0% (19,462 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹuːdɒ(l)f/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Rudolf |

## Etymology

Borrowed from German Rudolph, Rudolf (compare Proto-Germanic *Hrōþiwulfaz).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Rudolph in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 73% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Rudolph in the United States.

## People named Rudolph

- Wilma Rudolph, American athlete (1940–1994)
- Maya Rudolph, American actress and comedian
- Alan Rudolph, American film director and screenwriter
- Eric Rudolph, American domestic terrorist incarcerated in a US federal prison
- Paul Rudolph, American architect (1918–1997)
- Oscar Rudolph, American television and film director/producer, and screenwriter (1911-1991)

## Similar surnames

Rudolf, Rudloff, Ratliff, Radloff.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.