Realf Surname

2,106,139th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 80 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Australia

Realf Surname Definition:

A surname recorded in the town of Naim. Most probably from Norse Hrdlfr (from ON. Hrothuwolfar, 'wolf of fame'), as other names of undoubted Norse origin (Main, Manson) are current in the town. Elsewhere the name may be from the personal name Ralph (from Old English Rædwulf, 'wolf of counsel').

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Realf Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England471:1,185,49155,443
Australia281:964,13257,058
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England161:1,523,46151,234
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States111:4,565,335193,764

Realf (53) may also be a first name.

Realf Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

A surname recorded in the town of Naim. Most probably from Norse Hrdlfr (from ON. Hrothuwolfar, 'wolf of fame'), as other names of undoubted Norse origin (Main, Manson) are current in the town. Elsewhere the name may be from the personal name Ralph (from Old English Rædwulf, 'wolf of counsel'). Ralph, abbot of Jedburgh, died 1205 (Chron. Mail.). Magy Rauff appears in Aberdeen, 1400 (CWA., p. 313), Amy Rauff occurs in a list of Aberdeen thieves in 1411, and Henrie Raife was master of a barge there in 1444 (CRA., p. 4, 11). Alexander Rauff was chaplain in Aberdour, Banffshire, 1506 (REA., II, p. 97), John Rauff appears as monk of Inchaffray, 1544 and 1564 (Inchaffray, p. xcviii-xcix), and Wallace Rauff is in record in Edinburgh, 1595 (Edinb. Marr.). John Raif, merchant and burgess of Glasgow, 1607 (Burgesses), George Rauff in Nethermains, 1627 (Craw, Chirnside Common, p. 15), and Thomas Ralph in Partick, 1711 (Minutes, p. 115). As forename: Rafe Pott in Kelso, 1567 (Kelso, p. 524).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

The personal name Radulphus, introduced at the time of the Norman Conquest. It has given rise to Relfe, Realf, Ralfs, Raw, Rawes, Rawson, Rason, Rawlins, Rawlings, Rawlinson, Roaf, Rolfe, and other surnames.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

(Saxon.) From Rad, counsel, and ulph, help, French, Raoul, Latin, Rodolphus, a helper, a counselor.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Realf Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Realf Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Realf is most common in England. It may occur as:. Click here for other possible spellings of Realf.

How Common Is The Last Name Realf? popularity and diffusion

It is the 2,106,139th most frequently used family name internationally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 91,094,324 people. The surname occurs predominantly in Europe, where 60 percent of Realf live; 60 percent live in Northern Europe and 59 percent live in British Isles. It is also the 1,366,219th most frequently held first name worldwide. It is borne by 53 people.

It is most commonly held in England, where it is held by 47 people, or 1 in 1,185,491. In England it is mostly concentrated in: Essex, where 34 percent reside, West Midlands, where 28 percent reside and Norfolk, where 23 percent reside. Without taking into account England this last name occurs in 6 countries. It also occurs in Australia, where 35 percent reside and Argentina, where 1 percent reside.

Realf Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Realf has changed over time. In England the share of the population with the surname expanded 294 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it fell 91 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Realff9162/
Realfe911/
Ralf891,179/
Realffe8351/
Rahlf801,451/
Raulf801,337/
Ralfs80725/
Roelf80662/
Ralfe80525/
Ralff8056/
Rielf8023/
Ruelf8017/
Railf8010/
Raalf809/
Ryalf802/
Rallf801/
Reelf801/
Reulf801/
Ralfh801/
Rheuhalf770/
Raulfs73171/
Realph73134/
Rahlff73108/
Raulff7329/
Reilef7321/
Reylef735/
Ralphf733/
Roelff732/
Ratelf731/
Rialfe731/
Ryself731/
Realev731/
Ratlff731/
Ralfhe731/
Rellef731/
Reolfe731/
Ralftt731/
Rallfe730/
Retleff6718/
Realphe6711/
Ralb675/
Reyleff674/
Ratilff672/
Rhaulff671/
Relv671/
Ralw671/
Rlef671/
Ratelff670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Realf
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis