| Rudolph | Herman | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | famous wolf | Army man / soldier |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | ROO-dolf | HUR-mun |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1927 (1,690) | 1921 (3,219) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Rudolph | Herman |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 170 | 321 |
| 2010s | 392 | 750 |
| 2000s | 589 | 1,103 |
| 1990s | 1,054 | 1,957 |
| 1980s | 1,703 | 3,124 |
| 1970s | 2,186 | 4,761 |
| 1960s | 3,535 | 8,360 |
| 1950s | 6,652 | 13,832 |
| 1940s | 6,553 | 16,856 |
| 1930s | 8,200 | 20,319 |
| 1920s | 12,561 | 29,011 |
| 1910s | 6,857 | 22,598 |
| 1900s | 1,339 | 5,064 |
| 1890s | 998 | 4,232 |
| 1880s | 652 | 3,689 |
From the Germanic name Hrodwulf, combining 'hrod' ('fame') and 'wulf' ('wolf'), hence 'famous wolf'. The '-olph/-olf' ending preserves the wolf element.
From Germanic 'heri' (army) and 'man' (man), giving 'man of the army, soldier'. The Latinized Arminius refers to the same Cheruscan war-leader.
Rudolph and Herman are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Rudolph means famous wolf (germanic origin), while Herman means Army man / soldier (germanic origin).
In US records, Rudolph first appears in 0 and Herman in 0, so Rudolph has the longer recorded history.