ninan.org

Ralph

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~147,200 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,046 among boys
Births in 2025
211 415,858 since 1880
Typical age
69 years, median

Ralph popularity over time

Ralph rank by birth year, 1880–2025Ralph ranked #54 in 1880 and #1,046 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #21, in 1914.#100#1,000#1,046best #21 in 191418901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1921: 8,902 births recorded as Ralph. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Ralph has spent 84 years inside the national top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #1,046 with 211 births. Year on year the rank improved by 99.

Babies named Ralph per yearPeaks at 8,902 births in 1921.8,902 in 1921018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Ralph?

About 147,200 people named Ralph are alive in the United States today. That is out of 415,858 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Ralph?

The typical living Ralph is 69 years old. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Ralph a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Ralph

Ages of living people named RalphHalf of living Ralphs are older than 69 and half younger.median 69020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Ralph is most common

The name is concentrated in New Jersey, at 2.4× the national rate. New York and Florida follow.

Where Ralph is used more than average3 states use the name Ralph more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 1.9× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 2.4× the national rateNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: 1.8× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Ralph is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
New Jersey 102 2.4×
New York 188 1.9×
Florida 177 1.8×

Ralph in England and Wales

ONS recorded 541 births named Ralph in 2025, ranking it #96.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name 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.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Ralph

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Ralph Waldo Emerson American philosopher 1803–1882 155
Ralph Fiennes English actor, director and producer 1962 81
Ralph Bunche diplomat, educator, civil rights activist and the first African American Nobel Peace Prize winner 1904–1971 67
Ralph M. Steinman Canadian immunologist and cell biologist 1943–2011 58
Ralph Ellison American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer 1914–1994 51
Ralph Nader American lawyer and activist 1934 51
Ralph Lauren American fashion designer 1939 50
Ralph Vaughan Williams English composer 1872–1958 50
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,681 in 1911 to 3,449 in 1912 — 2.1 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/ralph.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).