Raoul
Masculine · “counsel wolf”
Raoul and Ralph are the same name, and neither looks it. One is the French development of a Norse compound and the other is the English one, and the two languages pulled the same three syllables in such different directions that the relationship is invisible from either end.
How old is the name Raoul?
Raoul was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Raoul alive today was born around 1950, making them about 75 years old. About 1,500 people named Raoul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Raoul most popular?
Raoul peaked in 1897, reaching #725 nationally. See the whole 1897 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Radulf to Raoul
The story of Raoul
The Norse Radulf came into Normandy with the settlers and into England with the Conquest, and the two countries wore it down differently. French lost the d and the consonant cluster, giving Raoul, in which the two vowels together are said as one syllable and the l is barely there. English kept the consonants and lost the middle, giving Ralf and then Ralph, in which the ph is a spelling affectation added later by scribes who thought it looked classical. The two forms are now so far apart that English treats Raoul as a foreign name, which by any reasonable measure it is not.
Meaning
counsel wolf
The Norse original joins a word for advice or counsel to the animal. It is the same compound behind Randolph and Rudolf, differently arranged.
How the name formed
- Radulf
- Raoul
Related forms: Raoul · Ralph · Raul · Raul · Rudolf
Pronouncing Raoul
rah-OOL
Two syllables in Spanish and Italian, with the weight at the back; French compresses it closer to one, RAOOL. English speakers regularly try RAY-ool.
Nicknames for Raoul
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192853 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #725reached in 1897
- Change vs 2022
- −44.4%5 in 2024, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Raoul in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Raoul in French — same name
- Ralph in English — related form
- Raul in Italian — same name
- Raul in Spanish — same name
- Rudolf in German — related form
Raouls among us
people named Raoul are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Raoul sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is a standing name across France, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
- The spelling is stable across all of those languages, which is unusual.
- It has a documented history running from the Norse settlement of Normandy to the present.
- English speakers will need the pronunciation given, and several will offer their own version.
- Raul without the o is the commoner spelling in Spanish and will be written instead.
- It reads as a foreign name in America despite being the same name as Ralph.
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Raoul
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Raouls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Raoul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Raoul in 2025?
- Raoul is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Raoul with classmates?
- Raoul will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Raoul? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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