Rolf

Where Rolf comes from

From Old Norse Hrólfr, and from its Old French equivalent, cognates of Rudolph. Brought to England by the Normans, survived in surnames and was revived in the 19th century, partly due to its modern Scandinavian cognate.
— Wiktionary's entry for Rolf
  • Germanic
  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1896
    Rolf Sievert born
    Swedish medical physicist, professor
  2. 1912
    First appearance
    #1,746 among boys, 9 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1944
    Rolf M. Zinkernagel born
    Swiss immunologist
  4. 1960
    Peak, #775
    96 babies named Rolf — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1967
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,071.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Namesakes
  • Rolf M. Zinkernagel · Swiss immunologist, born 1944
  • Rolf Sievert · Swedish medical physicist, professor, 1896–1966
  • Rolf Nevanlinna · Finnish mathematician (1895–1980) known for his research in complex analysis, 1895–1980
  • Rolf Harris · Australian entertainer, 1930–2023
  • Rolf Singer · German mycologist, 1906–1994

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.