Ranulph
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- RAN-ulf
- Origin
- Old Norse
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,329 for boys
Ranulph is a boys' name of Old Norse origin, meaning “counsel wolf”. In 2025 it ranked 3,329th for boys in the UK (6 babies).
What does Ranulph mean?
Old Norse: Old Norse name brought to England by the Normans
“counsel wolf”
Ranulf Flambard, chief minister of William II, was the first prisoner to escape from the Tower of London, in 1101.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Ranulph a girl's or a boy's name?
Ranulph is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 6 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ranulph in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,329th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 6 about 1 in 50,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 6 boys in the UK were named Ranulph, making it the 3,329th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,803rd. Its busiest year was 2009, with 14 boys.
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years.
Half of all the boys named Ranulph in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 3,239th in England and Wales.
Ranulph in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #3,329 |
| 2024 | 7 | #3,003 |
| 2023 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2022 | 13 | #1,886 |
| 2021 | 5 | #3,614 |
| 2020 | 3 | #4,803 |
| 2019 | 7 | #2,878 |
| 2018 | 9 | #2,388 |
| 2017 | 11 | #2,174 |
| 2016 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2015 | 7 | #2,855 |
| 2014 | 5 | #3,529 |
| 2013 | 10 | #2,176 |
| 2012 | 7 | #2,849 |
| 2011 | 1 | #6,218 |
| 2010 | 5 | #3,478 |
| 2009 | 14 | #1,674 |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 4 | #3,748 |
| 2006 | 3 | #4,204 |
| 2005 | 5 | #2,885 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 1 | #4,018 |
| 1999 | 3 | #3,043 |
Nicknames for Ranulph
- Ran
Names like Ranulph
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Musa, Muhammad, Yahya, Rayyan, Ronnie, Rayan, Ayaan, Abdullah, Ibrahim, Yusuf, River, Ralph
More Old Norse names
Freya, Eric, Astrid, Colby, Rafe, Odin, Ralphie, Erik, Freyja, Erick, Bo, Ronald, Bjorn, Erica, Raife, Ivar
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ranulph: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ranulph, updated 20 October 2026.