| Rudolph | Reginald | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | famous wolf | counsel-ruler |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | ROO-dolf | REJ-ih-nuld |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1927 (1,690) | 1962 (2,647) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Rudolph | Reginald |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 170 | 1,155 |
| 2010s | 392 | 3,068 |
| 2000s | 589 | 5,271 |
| 1990s | 1,054 | 9,724 |
| 1980s | 1,703 | 13,500 |
| 1970s | 2,186 | 17,191 |
| 1960s | 3,535 | 24,921 |
| 1950s | 6,652 | 19,338 |
| 1940s | 6,553 | 7,090 |
| 1930s | 8,200 | 3,864 |
| 1920s | 12,561 | 3,699 |
| 1910s | 6,857 | 1,929 |
| 1900s | 1,339 | 439 |
| 1890s | 998 | 231 |
| 1880s | 652 | 131 |
From the Germanic name Hrodwulf, combining 'hrod' ('fame') and 'wulf' ('wolf'), hence 'famous wolf'. The '-olph/-olf' ending preserves the wolf element.
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.
Rudolph and Reginald are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Rudolph means famous wolf (germanic origin), while Reginald means counsel-ruler (germanic origin).
In US records, Rudolph first appears in 0 and Reginald in 0, so Rudolph has the longer recorded history.