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Randolph - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Randolph

[ 2 syll. ran-dol-(p)(h), ra-ndo-lph ] The boy name Randolph is pronounced as RAENDaaLF KEY. Randolph is used predominantly in the English language and its origin is Germanic. The name's meaning is strong defender. Derived from the elements 'rant' meaning shield edge ; 'wulf' meaning wolf. Dolph (English), Dolphus (English), Randulfus (Latinized), Randwulf (Old English), and Rannulfr (Old Norse) are older forms of Randolph. The Domesday Book recorded the name as the Latinized Randulfus. The old forms of the name later gave rise to English forms such as Randall and Randel in the Middle Ages. The modern '-ph' altered spelling of the name developed during the revival of the name in the 19th century, amidst a vogue for Greek classical names. The term Randy has been used as a slang for a lecher in the US, but it has apparently not deterred the adoption of the name. The name Randi (English) is the female version of Randolph.

Randolph has 16 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Randolph used in English include Rand, Randal, Randall, Randel, Randell, Randi, and Randie. The short forms Dolph, Dolphus, Ran, and Randy are other English variants.

Rando (German), Randolf (German), Randulf (German and Scandinavian), and Ranulf (Scottish) are foreign variants of Randolph. Another foreign variant is the short form Dolf (German and Scandinavian).

Randolph is an uncommon baby name for boys. At the modest height of its usage in 1952, 0.092% of baby boys were given the name Randolph. It ranked at #154 then. The baby name has since steeply declined in popularity, and is currently of very light use. In 2008, within the group of boy names directly linked to Randolph, Randy (English) was the most regularly used.

Baby names that sound like Randolph include the name Randolf (German) and the name Randulf (German and Scandinavian).

Details of famous persons named Randolph:
Actor Randolph Mantooth, born 19 September 1945, Sacramento, California.
Author Randolph Bourne, born 30 May 1886 - 22 December 1918, Bloomfield, New Jersey.

KEY: Pronunciation for Randolph: R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)"


 
Popularity Trend
for Randolph
from 1900 to 2008
Variant Popularity Chart
for Randolph
in 2008
 

Meaning of Randolph Meaning of Dolf Meaning of Randy Meaning of Ran Meaning of Dolphus Meaning of Dolph Meaning of Randell Meaning of Randi Meaning of Randi Meaning of Randie Meaning of Randel Meaning of Randall Meaning of Randal Meaning of Rand Meaning of Adolf Meaning of Rudolph Meaning of Rudolf Meaning of Rudy Meaning of Rolf Meaning of Rudy Meaning of Gertrude Meaning of Rudi Meaning of Randie Meaning of Miranda Meaning of Ransom