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Ralph

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For other uses, see Ralph (disambiguation).
Look up Ralph or ralph in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Ralph
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameOld Norse, Old English
Meaning"Counsel wolf" or "Famous wolf" (Rudolph)
Other names
Related namesRaul, Raoul, Ralphie, Rudolph
See alsoRobert, Roland, Roger, Rose, Roderick, Rodney, Raymond

Ralph (pronounced /rælf/ RALF; or, more rarely, /reɪf/ RAYF,[1]) is a Germanic, Irish, and Scottish masculine given name, derived from the Old English Rædwulf and the longer form Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse Raðulfr (rað "counsel" and ulfr "wolf").[2][citation needed] It is also a surname and often a nickname of Rudolph, a name deriving from two stems: Hrōþi, Hruod, Hróðr or Hrōð, meaning "fame", "glory", and olf meaning "wolf".[citation needed]

The most common forms are:

  • Ralph, the common variant form in English.

Other forms of the name are:

  • Rafe, variant form which is a relatively rare male first name; it is pronounced /reɪf/.
  • Raife, variant form which is a very rare male first name.
  • Raif, variant form which is a very rare male first name.[3]
  • Ralf, the traditional variant form in Dutch, German, Swedish, and Polish.
  • Ralfs, the traditional variant form in Latvian.
  • Raoul, the traditional variant form in French.
  • Raúl, the traditional variant form in Spanish.
  • Raul, the traditional variant form in Portuguese and Italian.
  • Raül, the traditional variant form in Catalan.
  • Rádhulbh, the traditional variant form in Irish.

Also occurs in a feminine form Ralphine as a personal name and as a place name.

Given name

Middle Ages

Modern world

Surname

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ^ "AUE: FAQ excerpt: Words whose spelling has influenced their pronunciation". Alt-usage-english.org. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  2. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2008-09-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Raif Rackstraw from H.M.S. Pinafore
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