How common is the surname Rudolph?

19,854 people in the United States had the surname Rudolph in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,551 Americans. It ranked 1,808th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Rudolph?

Wilma Rudolph, American athlete (1940–1994), followed by Maya Rudolph.

Where is the surname Rudolph most common?

Wikidata records people named Rudolph in the United States.

How do you pronounce Rudolph?

Rudolph is /ˈɹuːdɒ(l)f/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Rudolph getting more or less common?

More common. 19,462 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,854 in 2010, up 2.0%.

Is Rudolph also a first name?

Yes. Rudolph is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Rudolph

A German surname, carried by 19,854 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈɹuːdɒ(l)f/ 2 syllables Soundex R341 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Rudolph is more common than 98.9% of them.

Origin

German origin

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

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 19,854 people named Rudolph in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 15,551 Americans. That is up 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 19,462.

#1,808

rank among US surnames

19,854

people in 2010

6.7

per 100,000 Americans

+2%

change since 2000 (was #1,688)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,799	Betts	19,983	15,450
#1,800	Coyle	19,931	15,491
#1,801	Trotter	19,927	15,494
#1,802	Wilhelm	19,913	15,505
#1,803	Blount	19,878	15,532
#1,804	Murdock	19,873	15,536
#1,805	Street	19,866	15,541

Who is named Rudolph

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

73% of people named Rudolph identified as white (not Hispanic), 21% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Rudolphs

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Wilma Rudolph
American athlete (1940–1994)
Maya Rudolph
American actress and comedian, born 1972
Alan Rudolph
American film director and screenwriter, born 1943
Eric Rudolph
American domestic terrorist incarcerated in a US federal prison, born 1966
Paul Rudolph
American architect (1918–1997)
Oscar Rudolph
American television and film director/producer, and screenwriter (1911-1991)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Rudolf

Surnames that sound like Rudolph

Rudolph has the Soundex code R341, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R341.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Rudolph come from?: Borrowed from German Rudolph, Rudolf (compare Proto-Germanic *Hrōþiwulfaz).
How common is the surname Rudolph?: 19,854 people in the United States had the surname Rudolph in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,551 Americans. It ranked 1,808th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Rudolph?: In the 2010 Census, 73% of people named Rudolph identified as white (not Hispanic), and 21% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Rudolph?: Wilma Rudolph, American athlete (1940–1994), followed by Maya Rudolph.
Where is the surname Rudolph most common?: Wikidata records people named Rudolph in the United States.
How do you pronounce Rudolph?: Rudolph is /ˈɹuːdɒ(l)f/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Rudolph getting more or less common?: More common. 19,462 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,854 in 2010, up 2.0%.
What are other spellings of Rudolph?: Rudolf.
Is Rudolph also a first name?: Yes. Rudolph is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.