Rolfe Surname

26,882nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 19,982 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Guernsey

Rolfe Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Rudolph,' from the nick. Rolf or Rolph. As Ralph represented Randolph, so Rolph or Rolf stood for Rudolph. Lower says it is the same as Ralph, and adds, 'The great landowner Goisfrid de Bee, son of Rollo, and grandson of Crispinus, baron of Bee, is styled in Domesday "filius Rolf"': Patronymica Britannica.

Read More About This Surname

Rolfe Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England7,2891:7,6441,122
United States6,7781:53,4766,412
Australia3,0261:8,9211,326
Canada1,4261:25,8383,473
New Zealand4091:11,0721,935
South Africa3981:136,12515,765
Wales2071:14,9491,631
Scotland1161:46,1544,115
France381:1,747,966156,445
Guernsey371:1,742400
Thailand341:2,077,598243,257
Singapore301:183,5907,666
Argentina221:1,942,88297,983
Ireland211:224,2358,707
Austria161:532,21549,801
Zimbabwe151:1,029,21663,831
Germany141:5,750,390205,224
Northern Ireland91:205,0049,958
Philippines81:12,654,778228,986
India61:127,844,230863,365
Norway61:857,04855,549
Malaysia61:4,915,704170,578
Jersey51:19,8403,614
Sweden41:2,461,689157,534
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Brazil41:53,518,583632,670
Taiwan31:7,814,91541,694
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
China31:455,773,85521,925
Chile31:5,872,15852,204
Monaco31:12,3552,088
Hong Kong31:2,445,1619,595
Israel21:4,278,817136,311
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
Isle of Man21:42,9113,686
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Kenya21:23,089,95083,168
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Uganda11:39,039,279258,887
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Belarus11:9,501,059159,228
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Gibraltar11:33,9541,660
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Greenland11:56,3791,133
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Mauritius11:1,293,41716,552
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland31:1,476,62229,385
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England3,8561:6,321969
Wales231:68,1923,286
Scotland121:311,9359,798
Jersey31:17,2942,528
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,2471:40,2724,737

The alternate forms: Rolfé (2) are calculated separately.

Rolfe (1,949) may also be a first name.

Rolfe Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Rudolph,' from the nick. Rolf or Rolph. As Ralph represented Randolph, so Rolph or Rolf stood for Rudolph. Lower says it is the same as Ralph, and adds, 'The great landowner Goisfrid de Bee, son of Rollo, and grandson of Crispinus, baron of Bee, is styled in Domesday "filius Rolf"': Patronymica Britannica.

Allan Rolfe, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Roger Rolf, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

John Rolf, Oxfordshire, ibid.

1614. Robert Rolfe and Cicely Pratt: Marriage Lic. (London).

1654. Married — Jasper Devenish and Elizabeth Rolph: St. Michael, Cornhill.

1721. — Thomas Rolph and Ann Bates: St. Mary Aldermary.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Contraction of Rodolf, q.v.

John Rolf.—Hundred Rolls Rolf is fairly common in Domesday- Book. It was the name of the first Duke of Normandy (Rolf-r or Hrolf-r, contraction from Hróþúlf-r and Latinized Rollo). Rolv and Rolf are the mod. Norwegian forms.

There has been some contusion with Ralf(e, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) Descendant of Rolf (fame, wolf).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The same as Rollo, Radulph, or Ralph. The great landholder, Goisfrid de Bec, son of Rollo, and grandson of Crispinus, baron of Bec, is styled in Domes-day "Filius Rolf."

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

See Rofe. Of this name was Lord Chancellor Cranworth.

The Norman People (1874)

From the Old Norse, Hrólfr; from the German, Roll, Rolle, Rolof, Roff, Ruff; in the Domesday Book, Ralf, Roulf, Rolf; from the Frisian, Rolf; from the Danish, Rohlf; from the Flemish, Roll; from the Dutch, Roll, Rolff, Rol; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Rolfe Last Name Facts

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

The last name Rolfe is most common in England. It may also appear in the variant forms: Rolfé. Click here for other potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Rolfe? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 26,882nd most frequently used last name world-wide, borne by approximately 1 in 364,706 people. This last name is mostly found in Europe, where 39 percent of Rolfe reside; 39 percent reside in Northern Europe and 38 percent reside in British Isles. It is also the 171,701st most frequently held first name at a global level It is held by 1,949 people.

The last name Rolfe is most frequently used in England, where it is borne by 7,289 people, or 1 in 7,644. In England it is primarily concentrated in: Greater London, where 13 percent reside, Hampshire, where 9 percent reside and Kent, where 8 percent reside. Aside from England this last name is found in 59 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 34 percent reside and Australia, where 15 percent reside.

Rolfe Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Rolfe has changed through the years. In England the share of the population with the surname rose 189 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 544 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it rose 900 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 967 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it rose 700 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Rolfe Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Rolfe surname is principally Anglican (67%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Rolfe surname are 3.75% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 50.52% being registered with the political party.

The amount Rolfe earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 31.35% less than the national average, earning 237,581 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 43.19% more than the national average, earning R 340,272 per year; in United States they earn 4.91% more than the national average, earning $45,268 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.51% more than the national average, earning $51,427 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Rolfé932/
Rolfes916,896/
Rolfer9175/
Rolfie912/
Roelfe912/
Rolffe911/
Rollfe911/
Roolfe910/
Rholfe910/
Rolf8910,875/
Rohlfes83103/
Rohlfer8347/
Rolfesz8312/
Rolffes833/
Rolfs802,600/
Rohlf802,155/
Rolfi801,128/
Rolff80874/
Ralfe80525/
Rollf80294/
Roolf80182/
Rolhf8028/
Roulf804/
Rolfy803/
Rolft802/
Rholf801/
Rulfe800/
Rolfh800/
Roohlfes771/
D'Rolfes771/
Roselfed771/
Roolfs73252/
Rolffs73153/
Rohlff73132/
Rollfs7349/
Rohllf7341/
Rolphe7332/
Roylev7311/
Rotlev7310/
Ralfes739/
Rholfs734/
Ralfie732/
Ralfhe731/
Rholff731/
Rohlft731/
Rolhfs731/
Roulfs731/
Rotlff731/
Ralfee731/
Roself731/
Rolfch730/
Rallfe730/
Ralfer730/
Ralf671,179/
Rohlffs67172/
Geerolf67152/
Rulffes6779/
Rolfová6759/
Rahlfes677/
Rolv675/
Rohylev674/
Rolb674/
Rolfova671/
Rothlef671/
Raulfer671/
Rohllfs670/
Ratlefe670/
Roulhfs670/
Rotleff670/

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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 Rolfe
  • 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