Ralph

Where Ralph comes from

From Middle English Radulf, from Old English Rǣdwulf (also as Raulf), from Proto-West Germanic *Rādawulf, from Proto-Germanic *Rēdawulfaz. Reinforced by similar forms brought to England, e.g. Old Norse Ráðúlfr, then in the Norman form Old French Radulf, Radulph. For the sense relating to vomiting, see ralph.
— Wiktionary's entry for Ralph
  • Germanic
  • 1 syllable
Ralph through the years
  1. 1803
    Ralph Waldo Emerson born
    American philosopher
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #54 among boys, with 317 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1917
    Peak, #21
    7,391 babies named Ralph, its best rank.
  4. 1962
    Ralph Fiennes born
    English actor, director and producer
  5. 1964
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #103.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Namesakes
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson · American philosopher, 1803–1882
  • Ralph Fiennes · English actor, director and producer, born 1962
  • Ralph Bunche · diplomat, educator, civil rights activist and the first African American Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1904–1971
  • Ralph Steinman · Canadian immunologist and cell biologist, 1943–2011
  • Ralph Nader · American lawyer and activist, born 1934

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.