| Reginald | Rudolph | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | counsel-ruler | famous wolf |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | REJ-ih-nuld | ROO-dolf |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1962 (2,647) | 1927 (1,690) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Reginald | Rudolph |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,155 | 170 |
| 2010s | 3,068 | 392 |
| 2000s | 5,271 | 589 |
| 1990s | 9,724 | 1,054 |
| 1980s | 13,500 | 1,703 |
| 1970s | 17,191 | 2,186 |
| 1960s | 24,921 | 3,535 |
| 1950s | 19,338 | 6,652 |
| 1940s | 7,090 | 6,553 |
| 1930s | 3,864 | 8,200 |
| 1920s | 3,699 | 12,561 |
| 1910s | 1,929 | 6,857 |
| 1900s | 439 | 1,339 |
| 1890s | 231 | 998 |
| 1880s | 131 | 652 |
From Germanic 'ragin' ('counsel, advice') + 'wald' ('rule, power'), i.e. 'ruler by counsel' / 'counsel-power'. Note: this is 'ruler/power', NOT literally 'king'. Reynold and Ronald are closely related forms.
From the Germanic name Hrodwulf, combining 'hrod' ('fame') and 'wulf' ('wolf'), hence 'famous wolf'. The '-olph/-olf' ending preserves the wolf element.
Reginald and Rudolph are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Reginald means counsel-ruler (germanic origin), while Rudolph means famous wolf (germanic origin).
In US records, Reginald first appears in 0 and Rudolph in 0, so Reginald has the longer recorded history.