Given name & surname
Raul
“wolf counsel”
Raul is a variant of Raoul. In French use, Raoul carries the interpretation “wolf counsel.”
Original SpanishRaúl
Meaning & origin
What it means
Raul is a variant of Raoul. In French use, Raoul carries the interpretation “wolf counsel.”
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Cebuano usage, Raul developed from Raúl.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1904. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Raul through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 88,524
- 88,040 boys · 484 girls
- Most popular year
- 1995
- 1,521 babies
- 2025
- 440
- #634 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 440 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 634 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,519 in 2000. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (142). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 131,547 as a first name in 2020; 456 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Raul’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Raul developed from the Spanish form Raúl. In Italian usage, Raul has a conventional equivalent in the English form Ralph. Raul has a related form in Raoul.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Raul has relatives in 12 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
Spanishwhere Raul comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Raúlsource · Spanish
- RalphEnglish
- Ruelequivalent
- RalfGerman, Polish
- Raulsequivalent
- Rauliequivalent
- РальфUkrainian
- RalfasLithuanian
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Raul
- Raul MeirelesPortuguese association football playerborn 1983
- Raul KhajimbaAbkhazian politicianborn 1958
- Raul HilbergAustrian-born American political scientist and historian (1926–2007)
- Cristóbal de MoralesSpanish composer1500–1553
- Raul RusescuRomanian footballerborn 1988
- Raul MaldonadoArgentine association football playerborn 1975
- Raul BoeselBrazilian racing driverborn 1957
- Raul NetoBrazilian basketball player (born 1992)
- Raul CortezBrazilian actor (1932–2006)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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