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
Along the way
  1. 1803
    Ralph Waldo Emerson born
    American philosopher
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #54 among boys — 317 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1917
    Peak, #21
    7,391 babies named Ralph — more than any year before or since.
  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.