Randolph - Meaning of Randolph

What does Randolph mean?

Pronounce
Randolph

[ 2 syll. ran-dol-(p)(h), ra-ndo-lph ] The baby boy name Randolph is pronounced as RAENDuhLF †. Randolph is used predominantly in the English language and its origin is Germanic. The name's meaning is strong defender. It is derived from the elements 'rant' meaning shield edge ; 'wulf' 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 and Scandinavian) is the female version of Randolph.

The name Randolph is widely used; it has 30 variants that are used in English and other languages. Variants used in English include Rand, Randal, Randall, Randel, Randell, Randi, Randie, Randol, Randolfo, Randolphe, Randolpho, Randolphus, Randulfo, Randulph, Randwolf, Randwulf, Ranolf, Ranolph, Ranulfo, Ranwolf, and Ranwulf. The contractions 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 contraction Dolf (German and Scandinavian).

See also the related categories, strong (strength), english, wolf, shield (protector), revival, greek, modern, slang, germanic (german), and wulf.

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 2018, within the group of boy names directly linked to Randolph, Randy was the most regularly used.

Baby names that sound like Randolph include Randolf, Randwolf, Randwulf, Randolfo, Randolphe, and Randolpho.

† Pronunciation for Randolph: R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; D as in "day (D.EY)" ; UH as in "look (L.UH.K)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)"

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.