Rolf
Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name Hrolf, itself a contraction of Hrodwulf (Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words hrod ("renown") + wulf ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is Hrólfr. An alternative but less common variation of Rolf in Norway is Rolv.
- German
- Swedish
- Norwegian
- Danish
Meaning & Origin of Rolf
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name Hrolf, itself a contraction of Hrodwulf (Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words hrod ("renown") + wulf ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is Hrólfr. An alternative but less common variation of Rolf in Norway is Rolv.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- German
- Swedish
- Norwegian
- Danish
- English
The Story of Rolf
Rolf first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1912, with 9 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1960: 97 births, good for #772 nationwide. About 21% of every Rolf on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. Rolf last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 3K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Rolf
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Rolf. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Roffe
- Rolph
Names that sound like Rolf
Phonetically similar names — useful when Rolf is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Rolf
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About the name Rolf
Rolf is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1912 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Rolf's peak popularity came in 1960 when it ranked #772. Use the chart and map above to compare Rolf's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1960 →
- Names of the 1960s →
- Names starting with "R" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.