Ralph
Ralph was given to 211 boys in 2025, #1,048 among boys’ names; 415,858 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 135,000 Americans named Ralph and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (32% of everyone recorded); the median is 69 years old and half are between 58 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ralph by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ralph mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ralph is “a male given name from the Germanic languages.”
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.
/ˈɹælf/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ralph?
#1,048 among boys’ names, 2025
Ralph rose from #1,067 in 2015 to #1,048 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.10 to 0.12 per 1,000.
8,902 babies in 1921, the peak
Ralph peaked in 1921, when 8,902 babies were given it (8,860 boys, #23 among boys’ names). The 211 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 211 | #1,048 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 183 | #1,148 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 169 | #1,196 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 184 | #1,141 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 186 | #1,111 | 0.11 |
| 2020 | 180 | #1,102 | 0.10 |
| 2019 | 203 | #1,026 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 219 | #950 | 0.12 |
| 2017 | 185 | #1,070 | 0.10 |
| 2016 | 205 | #996 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 186 | #1,067 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 193 | #1,042 | 0.10 |
| 2013 | 194 | #1,010 | 0.10 |
| 2012 | 180 | #1,059 | 0.09 |
| 2011 | 208 | #956 | 0.11 |
| 2010 | 205 | #967 | 0.11 |
| 2009 | 211 | #956 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 248 | #860 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 239 | #869 | 0.12 |
| 2006 | 278 | #761 | 0.14 |
| 2005 | 258 | #771 | 0.13 |
| 2004 | 270 | #712 | 0.14 |
| 2003 | 300 | #661 | 0.15 |
| 2002 | 314 | #630 | 0.16 |
| 2001 | 319 | #610 | 0.16 |
| 2000 | 342 | #584 | 0.17 |
| 1999 | 343 | #571 | 0.18 |
| 1998 | 333 | #584 | 0.17 |
| 1997 | 364 | #544 | 0.19 |
| 1996 | 415 | #503 | 0.22 |
| 1995 | 413 | #502 | 0.22 |
| 1994 | 422 | #490 | 0.22 |
| 1993 | 520 | #429 | 0.27 |
| 1992 | 499 | #441 | 0.25 |
| 1991 | 562 | #406 | 0.28 |
| 1990 | 603 | #385 | 0.29 |
| 1989 | 662 | #347 | 0.33 |
| 1988 | 628 | #339 | 0.33 |
| 1987 | 724 | #298 | 0.39 |
| 1986 | 728 | #286 | 0.40 |
| 1985 | 753 | #277 | 0.41 |
| 1984 | 771 | #270 | 0.43 |
| 1983 | 846 | #249 | 0.47 |
| 1982 | 949 | #243 | 0.52 |
| 1981 | 898 | #247 | 0.50 |
| 1980 | 1,039 | #229 | 0.58 |
| 1979 | 1,080 | #216 | 0.63 |
| 1978 | 1,079 | #205 | 0.66 |
| 1977 | 1,253 | #187 | 0.76 |
| 1976 | 1,161 | #193 | 0.74 |
| 1975 | 1,343 | #173 | 0.86 |
| 1974 | 1,371 | #174 | 0.87 |
| 1973 | 1,558 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1972 | 1,671 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1971 | 1,991 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1970 | 2,248 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 1969 | 2,416 | #126 | 1.4 |
| 1968 | 2,325 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,553 | #117 | 1.5 |
| 1966 | 2,783 | #112 | 1.6 |
| 1965 | 3,225 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 1964 | 3,564 | #103 | 1.8 |
| 1963 | 3,931 | #99 | 1.9 |
| 1962 | 4,180 | #97 | 2.0 |
| 1961 | 4,443 | #95 | 2.1 |
| 1960 | 4,770 | #89 | 2.2 |
| 1959 | 5,048 | #84 | 2.4 |
| 1958 | 5,453 | #78 | 2.6 |
| 1957 | 5,709 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1956 | 6,041 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 1955 | 5,965 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 1954 | 6,311 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1953 | 6,513 | #59 | 3.3 |
| 1952 | 6,469 | #56 | 3.3 |
| 1951 | 6,525 | #51 | 3.5 |
| 1950 | 6,406 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1949 | 6,748 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1948 | 6,915 | #51 | 3.9 |
| 1947 | 7,389 | #50 | 4.0 |
| 1946 | 6,587 | #48 | 4.1 |
| 1945 | 5,785 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1944 | 6,273 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 1943 | 6,771 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1942 | 6,637 | #38 | 4.8 |
| 1941 | 6,040 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1940 | 5,838 | #37 | 5.0 |
| 1939 | 5,959 | #35 | 5.4 |
| 1938 | 6,013 | #35 | 5.4 |
| 1937 | 5,923 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1936 | 6,029 | #31 | 5.8 |
| 1935 | 6,090 | #32 | 5.8 |
| 1934 | 6,282 | #31 | 6.1 |
| 1933 | 6,185 | #29 | 6.2 |
| 1932 | 6,727 | #27 | 6.4 |
| 1931 | 6,960 | #25 | 6.7 |
| 1930 | 7,634 | #25 | 7.0 |
| 1929 | 7,715 | #26 | 7.2 |
| 1928 | 8,100 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1927 | 8,434 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1926 | 8,455 | #24 | 7.6 |
| 1925 | 8,467 | #25 | 7.6 |
| 1924 | 8,766 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1923 | 8,629 | #23 | 7.9 |
| 1922 | 8,484 | #23 | 7.8 |
| 1921 | 8,860 | #23 | 8.0 |
| 1920 | 8,556 | #22 | 8.0 |
| 1919 | 7,709 | #22 | 7.9 |
| 1918 | 8,162 | #22 | 8.1 |
| 1917 | 7,391 | #21 | 8.0 |
| 1916 | 7,085 | #21 | 8.0 |
| 1915 | 6,816 | #21 | 8.0 |
| 1914 | 5,009 | #21 | 7.7 |
| 1913 | 3,963 | #22 | 7.7 |
| 1912 | 3,435 | #23 | 8.0 |
| 1911 | 1,674 | #24 | 7.4 |
| 1910 | 1,278 | #28 | 6.6 |
| 1909 | 1,091 | #30 | 6.7 |
| 1908 | 1,138 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1907 | 997 | #29 | 6.8 |
| 1906 | 984 | #26 | 7.4 |
| 1905 | 938 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1904 | 899 | #28 | 7.0 |
| 1903 | 807 | #29 | 6.8 |
| 1902 | 866 | #28 | 7.1 |
| 1901 | 682 | #29 | 6.4 |
| 1900 | 896 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1899 | 742 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1898 | 803 | #31 | 6.5 |
| 1897 | 697 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1896 | 746 | #30 | 6.2 |
| 1895 | 736 | #30 | 6.3 |
| 1894 | 692 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1893 | 636 | #31 | 5.7 |
| 1892 | 725 | #30 | 5.9 |
| 1891 | 587 | #28 | 5.8 |
| 1890 | 587 | #32 | 5.3 |
| 1889 | 495 | #39 | 4.5 |
| 1888 | 547 | #36 | 4.5 |
| 1887 | 463 | #38 | 4.6 |
| 1886 | 440 | #41 | 4.0 |
| 1885 | 422 | #44 | 3.9 |
| 1884 | 464 | #41 | 4.1 |
| 1883 | 385 | #45 | 3.7 |
| 1882 | 407 | #43 | 3.6 |
| 1881 | 329 | #45 | 3.3 |
| 1880 | 317 | #54 | 2.9 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ralph a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ralph has been given almost only to boys: 1,840 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ralph: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ralph, and how old are they?
135,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 32% of the 415,858 Americans ever recorded as Ralph. The median Ralph alive today is 69 years old; half are between 58 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 162,513 people named Ralph (192 women and girls, 162,321 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 164,785 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 21,700 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 70,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 25,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 9,890 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,330 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,480 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ralph born?
The states with the most babies named Ralph are New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 36,534 | #681 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 29,551 | #699 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 26,455 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 23,108 | #1,414 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 21,333 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 14,759 | #1,285 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 14,027 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 12,689 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 12,339 | #710 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 11,963 | #890 | 1.0× |
Where Ralph is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ralph is most over-represented in Ohio: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ralph with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 416,173 babies since 1880, Ralph is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 211 of their 211 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ralph
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ralph and names like it
- Compare Ralph and RalfBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sRalph peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ralph since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Ralph: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Ralph.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ralph alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.