Adolfo
Adolfo is a masculine Spanish name meaning "noble wolf".
Name Census estimates that about 13,506 living Americans carry the first name Adolfo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Adolfo today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adolfo births was 2003 (505 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adolfo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 25,378 Americans
Peak year
2003
505 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,636
Tracked since 1882
Census
Adolfo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 24,712 people with the first name Adolfo, which placed it at #1,405 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,405
National first-name rank
People counted
25K
24,712 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adolfo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adolfo is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Adolfo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Adolfo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.6% · 23,629
- White2.4% · 587
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 366
- Black or African American0.3% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 33
- Two or more races0.1% · 24
Gender
Gender distribution for Adolfo
Out of the 16,122 babies given the name Adolfo since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Adolfo as a male name
- Ranked #1,636 in 2024
- 103 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (505 births)
Adolfo as a female name
- Ranked #11,334 in 1987
- 5 female births in 1987
- Peak: 1986 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adolfo appears almost entirely male. Of the 24,707 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Adolfo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adolfo from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,912 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adolfo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Adolfo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adolfos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Adolfo, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 463 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Adolfo
The name Adolfo has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the Old High German "Athalwolf" or "Adaulf". It combines the elements "athalu" meaning "noble" and "wulf" meaning "wolf". The name essentially means "noble wolf" and symbolizes strength, courage, and leadership qualities.
As the Germanic tribes migrated and interacted with other cultures, the name Adolfo became widely adopted and adapted across various regions. In the Latin-speaking world, it evolved into the form "Adolphus" or "Adolfus". The name gained prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions like modern-day Italy, Spain, and France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Adolfo can be found in the 9th century, referring to a Frankish nobleman named Adolphus of Ferrieres. He was an influential advisor to the Carolingian rulers and played a significant role in the political affairs of that era.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Adolfo. One of the most famous was Adolfo Hidalgo (1614-1690), a Spanish military leader and governor of Cuba. He is renowned for his successful defense of Havana against the English forces during the Anglo-Spanish War.
Another prominent individual was Adolfo Suarez (1932-2014), a Spanish politician who served as the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain after the Franco dictatorship. He played a crucial role in the country's transition to democracy and is highly regarded for his leadership during that pivotal period.
In the realm of literature, Adolfo Becquer (1836-1870) was a renowned Spanish Romantic poet and playwright. His works, such as "Rimas y Leyendas" (Rhymes and Legends), are considered masterpieces of Spanish poetry and have left a lasting impact on the literary world.
The name Adolfo has also been associated with royalty. Adolfo of Nassau (1817-1905) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1890 until his death. He played a significant role in establishing Luxembourg's independence and strengthening its sovereignty.
In the field of science, Adolfo Stahl (1805-1886) was a prominent Mexican chemist and physician. He made important contributions to the understanding of the chemistry of sugars and is considered a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have carried the name Adolfo throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence across various cultures and spheres of influence.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Adolfo
People
Adolfo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adolfo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Adolfo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adolfo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,506 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adolfo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 25,378 US residents.
Is Adolfo a common name?
We classify Adolfo as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,122 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adolfo most popular?
The single biggest year for Adolfo was 2003, when 505 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adolfo is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adolfo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 24,712 people with the name Adolfo, or 8.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,405 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Adolfo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Adolfo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adolfo appears almost entirely male. Of the 24,707 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Adolfo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adolfo is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Adolfo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Adolfo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (23,629 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Adolfo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adolfo a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Adolfo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Adolfo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adolfo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Adolfo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Adolfo?
Want to know how many people share the name Adolfo? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.