Given name & surname
Ralf
“wolt counsel”
In German use, Ralf has a related form in Ralph. One English interpretation is “wolt counsel.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Ralf has a related form in Ralph. One English interpretation is “wolt counsel.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In German use, Ralf has a related form in Ralph. An origin associated with Ralph is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In German usage, Ralf is a short form of Radulf. In Finnish usage, Ralf developed from Ralph.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1920. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ralf through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 304
- 304 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1963
- 19 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 19 in 1963. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,483 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ralf’s family of names
In German usage, Ralf is a short form of Radulf. In Finnish usage, Ralf developed from the English form Ralph. In Danish usage, Ralf has a conventional equivalent in the Portuguese form Raul.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ralf has relatives in 9 languages.
9 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ralf
- Ralf SchumacherGerman racing driverborn 1975
- Ralf DahrendorfGerman-British sociologist, politician (1929–2009)
- Ralf RangnickGerman association football player and coachborn 1958
- Ralf FährmannGerman association football playerborn 1988
- Ralf EdströmSwedish footballerborn 1952
- Ralf HütterGerman musicianborn 1946
- Ralf MoellerGerman actor and bodybuilderborn 1959
- Ralf TörngrenPrime Minister of Finland (1899-1961)
- Ralf BartelsGerman shot putterborn 1978
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ralf, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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