Rudolph (name)
Rudolph or Rudolf or Rodolphe is a male first name, and, less commonly, a surname. It is an ancient Germanic name deriving from two stems: Hrōþi, Hruod, Hróðr or Hrōð, meaning "fame", "glory" "honour", "renown", and olf meaning "wolf". It is a common name in many Germanic-language speaking countries in Europe, but in the North American countries it is rare.
In other languages
- Afrikaans: Roelof, Rudolf
- Albanian: Rudolf
- Armenian: Ռուդոլֆ
- Catalan: Rodolf
- Croatian: Rudolf
- Czech: Rudolf
- Danish: Rudolf
- Dutch: Roelof, Rudolf, Ruud
- English: Rudolph, Rodolph, Rolph
- Estonian: Rudo, Ruudo, Ruudolf
- Finnish: Ruuto, Ruutolffi
- Flemish: Roel
- French: Rodolphe, Raoul
- Georgian: რუდოლფ
- German: Rudolf, Rolf, diminutive: Rudi
- Greek: Ροδόλφος, Ράλλης
- Hebrew רודולף
- Hungarian: Rudolf
- Italian: Rodolfo
- Japanese:ルドルフ, ルド, ルディ
- Latin: Rudolphus
- Latvian: Rūdolfs, Rūdis
- Lithuanian: Rudolfas, Rudas
- Manx: Roolwer
- Norwegian: Rudolf
- Polish: Rudolf
- Portuguese: Rodolfo
- Russian: Рудольф
- Serbian: Rudolf
- Slovak: Rudolf
- Slovene: Rudolf
- Spanish: Rodolfo
- Swedish: Rudolf
Given name
Royalty
- Rudolph of France
- Rudolf I of Germany
- Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Empress Elisabeth of Austria
- Rudolph I of Bohemia
- Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor
- Rudolf II, Duke of Austria
- Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
- Rudolph II of Burgundy
- Rudolph II, Count of Habsburg
- Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia
- Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine, one of the principal commanders of Hundred Years' War and Battle of Crécy
Religious figures
- Rudolf of Fulda, 9th century monk, writer and theologian
- Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen, Archbishop of Olomouc and member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine
- Rudolf Baláž. Slovak Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Banská Bystrica from 1990 until his death in 2011.
Dancers
- Rudolf Laban
- Rudolf Nureyev
Wartime Figures
- Rudolf Freiherr Stöger-Steiner von Steinstätten, Colonel-General in the Austro-Hungarian army, the last Imperial Minister for War to the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, one of the principal commanders of Battles of the Isonzo
- Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan, British Army officer and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, one of the principal commanders of the Second Boer War and Italian Front
- Rodolfo Graziani, prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's Regio Esercito and the Minister of National Defence of the Italian Social Republic, one of the principal commanders of Italian Civil War, Second Italo-Ethiopian War and North African campaign
- Rudolf Diels, German Nazi SS official and Director of German secret police Gestapo from 1933 to 1934
- Rudolph B. Davila, United States Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in the European theatre during World War II
- Rudolph Bierwirth, General officer in the Australian Army, one of the principal commanders of New Guinea campaign
- Rudolf Anderson, U.S. Air Force pilot and first recipient of the Air Force Cross
- Rudolf von Bünau, German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II and one of the chief commanders of Vienna Offensive
- Rudolf von Brudermann, general of Austria-Hungary during the First World War who led the Austro-Hungarian 3rd army during the Battle of Galicia
- Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany
- Rudolf Berthold, German World War I air ace
- Rudolf Brandt, German Nazi SS officer and leader of the Jewish skeleton collection project
- Rudolph Douglas Raiford, American World War II combat officer
- Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German army officer who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing on 21 March 1943, leader of the unit, soldiers of which discovered the mass graves of the Soviet-perpetrated Katyn massacre
- Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer in Nazi Germany, one of the leaders of Beer Hall Putsch, best known for his solo flight to Scotland
- Rudolf Höss, German Nazi first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp
- Rudolf Lange, Nazi German SS officer and one of the major perpetrators of the Holocaust, commander of Salaspils concentration camp, one of the leading perpetrators of Jelgava massacre and Rumbula massacre
- Rudolf Spanner, Director of the Danzig Anatomical Institute during World War II who set up a process to produce soap made from human corpses
- Rudolf Schmundt, German officer in the Wehrmacht and adjutant to Adolf Hitler during World War II, later tried to unsuccessfully assassinate Hitler
- Rudolf Viest, Slovak military leader, commander of the 1st Czechoslovak army during the Slovak National Uprising
- Rudolf Frank, German Luftwaffe military aviator and night fighter ace during World War II
- Rudolf von Eschwege, German World War I flying ace who was the German Empire's only fighter pilot operating on the Macedonian Front
- Rudolf Veiel, German Panzer general during World War II, one of the principal commanders of Battle of Greece
- Rudolf Sieckenius, German Generalmajor during World War II, one of the principal commanders of Battle of Berlin
- Rudolf von Slatin, Anglo-Austrian soldier and administrator in Sudan
- Rudolf Jordan, Nazi Gauleiter in Halle-Merseburg and Magdeburg-Anhalt
- Hans-Rudolf Rösing, German U-boat commander in World War II
- Rudolph Hiemstra, South African Air Force commander
- Rudolf Schmidt, general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II
- Rudolf Rahn, Nazi German politician and Plenipotentiary to the Italian Social Republic
- Rodolfo Hernández, United States Army soldier
- Rudolf Perešin, Croatian fighter pilot serving in the Yugoslav Air Force during Croatian War of Independence
- Rudolf Toussaint, German army officer, one of the principal commanders of Prague uprising
- Rudolf Meister, German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II
- Rudolf Maister Slovene military officer, poet and political activist, one of the leading perpetrators of Marburg's Bloody Sunday, one of the principal commanders of Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia
Multi-Fields
- Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist
Literature
- Rudolph Blaumanis, Latvian writer, journalist and playwright, considered one of the greatest writers in Latvian history and particularly a master of realism
In film and television
- Rudolph Anders, American actor
- Rudolph Sternad, American art director and production designer
- Rudolf Buitendach, South African born film director and editor
- Rudolph Cartier, Austrian television director, filmmaker, screenwriter and producer who worked predominantly in British television, exclusively for the BBC
- Rudolf Carl, Austrian actor
- :de:Rudolf Christians |Rudolf Christians, German actor
- Rodolfo "Rudy" Mancuso, American actor, Internet personality and musician most notable for his comedic videos on YouTube and previously on Vine
- Rudolf Martin, German actor working mainly in the United States
- Rudolph Mate, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, film director and film producer
- Rudolf "Ruud" Kleinpaste, Dutch-New Zealand naturalist and TV host
- Rudolph Schildkraut, Austrian film and theatre actor
- Rudolf Ising, member of the American animation team Harman and Ising, known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios and creating the Looney Tunes
- Rudolf Jugert, German film director
- Rudolf Platte, German actor
- Rudolf Prack, Austrian actor
- Rudolph Valentino, legendary silent film actor
- Rudolph Walker, British actor
- Rudolf Noelte, German film director, theater director and opera director
- Rudy Wurlitzer, American novelist and screenwriter.
- Rudolf Bernhard, Swiss actor and theater director
- Rudolf Meinert, Austrian screenwriter, film producer and director
- Rudolf Hrušínský, Czech actor
- Rudolf Zehetgruber, Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor
- Ruedi Walter, Swiss comedian and actor
In science and technology
- Ralph H. Baer , German-American video game pioneer, inventor, engineer
- Rudolf Rudy Ballieux, Dutch immunologist
- Rudolph Boysen, creator of the boysenberry
- Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine
- Rudolf Hauschka, Austrian chemist, author, inventor, entrepreneur and anthroposophist
- Rudolf Leuckart, German zoologist
- Rudolf Fleischmann, German experimental nuclear physicist
- Rudolf Kochendörffer, German mathematician
- Rudolf E. Kalman, American electrical engineer, mathematician, and inventor of the Kalman filter
- Rudolf Jaenisch, Professor of Biology at MIT and a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
- Rudolf Ernst Brünnow, German-American orientalist and philologist
- Rudolph John Anderson, American biochemist
- Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian Nobel Prize-winning chemist
- Rudolf Robert Maier, German pathologist
- Rudolf Simek, Germanist and Philologian
- Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist
- Rudolf Virchow, German physician and biologist
- Rudolf Wolf, Swiss astronomer and mathematician
- Rudolf Peierls, British physicist
- Rudolf Wagner, German anatomist and physiologist and the discoverer of the germinal vesicle
In music
- Rudolph Isley, American singer-songwriter and one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers
- Rudolf Friml, American composer and pianist
- Rudolf Baumgartner Swiss conductor and violinist
- Sir Rudolf Bing, opera impresario
- :fr:Rodolphe Burger, French composer
- Rudolf Friml, composer of operettas, musicals songs and piano pieces, and a pianist
- Rudolph Ganz Swiss-born American pianist, conductor, composer, and music educator
- Rodolfo "Fito" Páez, Argentine singer-songwriter
- Rudolph Isley, American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers.
- Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist and founding member of heavy metal band Scorpions.
- Rudolph Lewis, British bass-baritone
- Rudolf Fischer German musician
- Wage Rudolf Supratman, Indonesian songwriter, and the composer who wrote both the melodies and lyric of the anthem Indonesia Raya.
Political figures
- Rudolf Anschober, Austrian politician
- Rudolf von Auerswald, German official who served as Prime Minister of Prussia during the Revolution of 1848
- Rudolph G. Tenerowicz, American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan
- Rudolf Katz, German politician and judge, Vice President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
- Rudolf "Rudy" Andeweg, Dutch political scientist
- Gerald Rudolph Ford, American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States
- Rudolph Blankenburg, businessman and manufacturer, who became a politician and elected mayor of Philadelphia.
- Rudolf Buttmann, German politician and diplomat
- Rudolf Gnägi, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council
- Rudolf Minger, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council
- Rudolph King, American politician who served as member of Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani, American lawyer, businessman, former politician, and public speaker. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001.
- Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian diplomat, politician and judge, who served as the eighth President of Austria.
- Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr., president of Walgreens and the chairman of the board
- Rudolf E. A. Havenstein, German lawyer and president of the Reichsbank during the hyperinflation of 1921-1923
- Rudolph K. Hynicka, American politician who led the Republican party in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Rudolf Kjellén, Swedish political scientist and politician who first coined the term "geopolitics"
- Rudolph Jay Schaefer I, president of F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company
- Rudolf Scharping, German politician and sports official who served as 12th Minister of Defence of Germany
- Rudolf Seiters, German politician of the CDU party.
- Rudolph "Rudy" Perpich, former governor of Minnesota.
- Rudolph "Rudy" Boschwitz, American politician and former Independent-Republican United States Senator from Minnesota.
- Rudolf "Rudi" Vis, Dutch-born British politician and Member of Parliament.
Other
- Rudolf Caracciola, German racing driver
- Rudolph Contreras, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Rudolph "Rudy" J. Castellani Jr., American professor of pathology and Director of Neuropathology at the University of Maryland
- Rodolph Austin, Jamaican professional footballer
- Rudolph B. Davila, United States army officer
- Rudolf Bahro, dissident from East Germany
- Rudolph Weaver, American architect, university professor and administrator
- Rudolf "Rudi" Assauer, German football manager and player
- Rudolf Abel, the alias of Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher, a Russian spy
- Rudolf Amelunxen, German politician of the Zentrum and the 1st Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia
- Rudolf Clausius, German physicist and mathematician
- Rudolf Minkowski, American astronomer
- Rudolf Dreikurs, Austrian psychiatrist and educator
- Rudolf "Rudi" Dutschke, spokesperson of the 1960s German student movement
- Rudolf "Rudi" Fischer, Swiss racing driver
- Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, Mexican American boxer, poet, and political activist
- Rudolf G. Binding, German writer and supporter of Hitler
- Rudolph Walton, American merchant after whom was named Rudolph Walton School in Philadelphia
- Rudolph A. Peterson, American banker who served as the President and CEO of Bank of America and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
- Rudolph A. Seiden, American chemist and a Zionist activist
- Rudolph Ackermann, Anglo-German bookseller, inventor, lithographer, publisher and businessman
- Rodolphe Adada, Congolese politician and diplomat
- Rodolfo Acquaviva, Italian Jesuit missionary to India
- Rudolph Aggrey, American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Senegal, Gambia, and Romania
- Rudolf E. Kalman Hungarian-born American electrical engineer, mathematician, and inventor
- Rudolf Smend, German theologian
- Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-born chemist who received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems
- Rudolf Robert Maier, German pathologist
- Rudolph "Bingo" Kampman, Canadian ice hockey defenceman in the NHL
- Rudolf Baumbach, German poet
- Rudolph A. Herold, American architect
- Rudolf "Rudi" Hess, American fine art painter, sculptor and art critic, who was based in Northern California
- Rudolph Löwenstein, German writer
- Rudolph Loewenstein, Polish-born American psychoanalyst
- Rudolf Horn, former Austrian biathlete and cross-country skier
- Rudolf Plyukfelder, retired Ukrainian weightlifter
- Rudolph Hass, developer of the Hass avocado, the source of 95% of California avocados grown commercially today
- Rudolf Fischer German writer
- Rudolf Fischer Romanian historian
- Rudolf Rocker, anarchist writer and activist
- Rudolf Dassler, German businessman
- Rodolphe Saadé, French billionaire businessman
- Rudolf Schindler, German physician and gastroenterologist
- Rudolph Schindler, American architect
- Rudolph Moshammer, German fashion designer
- Rudolf Molleker, German tennis player
- Roudolphe Douala, Cameroonian retired footballer
- Rudolf Wittkower, American art historian
- Rudolph Koenig, German physicist
- Rudolf Geiger, German meteorologist and climatologist
- Rudolf Tombo Jr., American philologist
- Rudolf Ziegler, German rowing coxswain
- Rudolph Nickolsburger, Hungarian footballer
- Rudolf "Rudi" Gernreich, American fashion designer
- Rudolf Holzapfel, Polish-born Austrian psychologist and philosopher
- Rudolph Fentz, focal character of "I'm Scared", a 1952 science fiction short story by Jack Finney, which was later reported as a real person in an urban legend
- Rudolph "Rudy" Hatfield, American-Filipino retired professional basketball player
- Rudulph Evans, sculptor from Washington, D.C., who grew up in Virginia
- Rudolph Emmerich, German bacteriologist noted for his advances against cholera and his co-invention of the first antibiotic drug Pyocyanase with Oscar Löw
- Rudolf von Alt, Austrian landscape and architectural painter
- Rudolph "Rudy" Sikich, American National Football League player
- Rudolf Otto, German Lutheran theologian, philosopher, and comparative religionist
- Rudolph Edward Torrini, American artist best known for his sculptures, wood carvings and bronze public monuments in the St. Louis area, including "The Immigrants", "The Union Soldier," and "Martin Luther King
- Rudolf "Rudi" Skácel, Czech footballer
- Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect and esotericist
- Rudolph Fisher, African-American physician, radiologist, novelist, short story writer, dramatist, musician, and orator
- Rudolph "Rudy" Johnson, former American football player who played for San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Nebraska
- Rudolf Wanderone, American professional billiards player, also known as "Minnesota Fats"
- Rudolph A. Peterson, American banker who served as the President and CEO of Bank of America and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
- Rodolfo Walsh, Argentine writer and journalist of Irish descent, considered the founder of investigative journalism. Most famous for his Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta
- Rodolphe Lemieux, Canadian parliamentarian and long time Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
- Rudolf Pleil, German serial killer
- Rudolf Spielmann, Austrian-Jewish chess player
- Rudolf Straeuli, South African rugby player and coach
- Rudolf Völler, German football player
- Rudolf Vrba, Slovak-Canadian professor of pharmacology and Jewish escapee of the Auschwitz concentration camp
- Rudolf Poch, Austrian doctor, anthropologist, and ethnologist
- Rudolph "Rudy" LaRusso, American basketball player
- Rudolph Arvid Peterson, former president and CEO of Bank of America
- Rudolf Zistler, Austro-Hungarian socialist and lawyer
- Preston Rudolph "Rudy" York, American Major League Baseball player
- Rudolph Wurlitzer German American businessman, founder of The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company
- :de:Rudolf Wacker, Austrian painter
- Rudolf Zwirner, German art dealer
- Rudolf Koch German type designer.
- Rodolfo "Rudy" Fernández y Farrés, Spanish basketball player
- Rudolph Gerhardus Snyman, South African rugby union player
Fictional
- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, fictional character
- Rudolf, a character from 2016 animated film Rudolf the Black Cat
- Rudolf, Emperor of Rigel in the game Fire Emblem
- Rudolph "Lightning" Jackson, a character from
Surname
Athletes
- Ernie Rudolph, American baseball pitcher
- Gergely Rudolf, Hungarian football player
- Jack Rudolph , American football player
- Jacques Rudolph, South African cricketer
- Kyle Rudolph, American football player
- Mason Rudolph , American football player
- Mason Rudolph American golfer
- Nils Rudolph, German freestyle swimmer
- Travis Rudolph, American football player
- Wilma Rudolph, American Olympic athlete
- Rudolf Strauli South Africa Rugby player
In film and television
- Alan Rudolph, film director and screenwriter
- Maya Rudolph, actress and comedian
- William Rudolph, American film technician
In science and technology
- Arthur Rudolph, rocket scientist who helped develop the V-2 and the Saturn V, Operation Paperclip
In music
- Jean-Joseph Rodolphe, composer
- Max Rudolf , German conductor who spent most of his career in the United States
- Kevin Rudolf, American musician, singer-songwriter and music producer.
Other
- Albert Rudolph, birth name of Swami Rudrananda, American entrepreneur and spiritual teacher
- Eric Robert Rudolph, serial murderer and terrorist
- Julia Ann Rudolph, American photographer
- Paul Rudolph , American architect
- Vernon Rudolph, founder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc