How Many People Are Named Ralph?
An estimated 156,968 people in the United States have the first name Ralph. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #339 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 68 years old, and Ralph peaked in popularity in 1921 with 8,902 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ralph as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ralph paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Ralph is overwhelmingly male, 1,840 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 68, Ralph is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1968.
- Ralph has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
156,968
About 1 in 2,184 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
68
years old
Peak Year
1921
8,902 births
Total Registered
415,639
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ralph
Ralph is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 415,639 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Ralph as a male name
Ranked #1,152 in 2024
182 male births in 2024
Peak: 1921 (8,860 births)
Ralph as a female name
Ranked #14,641 in 1990
5 female births in 1990
Peak: 1927 (59 births)
Ralph: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ralph span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 84,952 babies were registered. Ralph has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ralph by Decade
How has Ralph tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,285 | 4,269 | 16 | |
| 1890s | 6,984 | 6,951 | 33 | |
| 1900s | 9,331 | 9,298 | 33 | |
| 1910s | 52,749 | 52,522 | 227 | |
| 1920s | 84,952 | 84,466 | 486 | |
| 1930s | 64,112 | 63,801 | 311 | |
| 1940s | 65,160 | 64,980 | 180 | |
| 1950s | 60,627 | 60,442 | 185 | |
| 1960s | 34,369 | 34,185 | 184 | |
| 1970s | 14,883 | 14,755 | 128 | |
| 1980s | 8,052 | 8,000 | 52 | |
| 1990s | 4,479 | 4,474 | 5 | |
| 2000s | 2,779 | 2,779 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,978 | 1,978 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 899 | 899 | 0 | |
Ralph by State
Birth registrations for Ralph span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 7,658 Ralphs were registered per state.
Ralph + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ralph as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ralph
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
Ralph: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ralph?
We estimate approximately 156,968 people named Ralph are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 2,184 Americans share this first name.
Is Ralph a common name?
Ralph is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 415,639 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ralph most popular?
Ralph reached peak popularity in 1921, when 8,902 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ralph is approximately 68 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ralph a male name?
Ralph is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ralph Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ralph Smith, Ralph Johnson, Ralph Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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