|
|
|
Information
contained in these pages is intended for genealogical research only, and I ask
that you respect the privacy of those mentioned.
Please
acknowledge the source of any information used from these pages.
Origin / History of the Ralph Name Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to develop, often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling, including Ralph. Examples have been found which include: Ralph; Ralphs; Ralfe; Rafe; Raff; Ralls; Rave; Rawle; and Rawles (English); Raoul; Raoult; Rault; and Raoux (French); Radou; and Razoux (Provencal); Radolf; Radloff; Rahl; and Rahlof (German), this is a surname of ancient Norse origins. It derives from the personal name ‘Radulf,’ composed of the elements ‘rad’, meaning counsel or advice, and ‘wolf’, a wolf, an animal much admired at the time for its ferocity and cunning. The personal name was introduced throughout Northern Europe and the British Isles by the famous ‘Viking’ invaders of the 7th Century, and after the Norman-French conquest of England in 1066, the French form of ‘Raoul’ also made its appearance. In early English records, the original surname was invariably Latinized as ‘Radulfus’, and the surname, however spelt, is one of the earliest recorded anywhere in the world, and its development since the late 12th Century has included such examples as: Richard Rau of the county of Norfolk in the year 1212; Simon Raulf of Sussex in 1296; and in Germany Johan Radolfi, given as being a burgher of the city of Hannover, in 1310; in France Louis Raoul of Saintonge, Aulnay, in the department of Charente-Maritime 1636; and Jean Rault, and his wife the former Marie Anne Gasbled, at Germain-en-Laye, Seine -et-Oise 1788. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere is believed to be that of Johannes Radulphus 1186, in the surviving charters of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, in the county of Suffolk, England.
Click on Surname to go to the Family Sheet
|
