Raul
Meaning of Raul
Raul, pronounced rah-OOL, traces its linguistic ancestry to the Old Norse Ráðúlfr—“counsel wolf”—which migrated through Old High German (Radulf) and Norman French (Raoul) before solidifying in the Iberian Peninsula, where the streamlined spelling without an internal vowel became standard. The name’s semantic core, a fusion of strategic wisdom and lupine strength, situates it comfortably among the pan-European “wolf” tradition that includes Ralph and Rudolf, yet its Spanish orthography lends a distinctive, cosmopolitan cadence appreciated in bilingual contexts throughout the Americas. United States birth records reveal a pattern of quiet persistence: first recorded nationally in the early twentieth century, Raul climbed methodically with post-1965 Latin American immigration, reached its statistical apex at rank 188 in 1981, and has since hovered between the low 200s and high 500s, occupying rank 518 in the 2024 dataset—figures that testify less to volatility than to enduring, community-anchored usage. Cultural associations span the arts and public life, exemplified by the late Puerto Rican actor Raúl Juliá’s Broadway gravitas and former Cuban president Raúl Castro’s geopolitical visibility, conferring on the name an aura of disciplined charisma rather than fleeting fashion.
Pronunciation
Spanish
- Pronunced as rah-OOL (/raʊl/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Raul
| Raul Julia - Raúl Juliá was a highly acclaimed Puerto Rican actor who won multiple major awards but never received an Academy Award nomination. |
| Raul Sevilla Manglapus was a Filipino politician and songwriter who co-founded the Progressive Party of the Philippines and the Christian Democratic Socialist Movement. |
| Raul Midón is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Mexico. |
| Raul Humberto Yzaguirre is an American civil rights activist who served as president of the National Council of La Raza and as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. |
| Raul Maia Cabral is a Brazilian football coach currently serving as head coach of Ypiranga-RS. |
| Raul Roulien was a Brazilian actor, singer, screenwriter, and director who became the first male Brazilian star in Hollywood. |
| Raul Martins Machado was a Portuguese footballer known for playing as a centre-back. |
| Raul is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Athletico Paranaense. |
| Raul de Souza was a Brazilian trombonist who collaborated with numerous renowned jazz and Brazilian music artists. |
| Raul Germano Brandão was a Portuguese writer celebrated for his realistic and lyrical works, often drawing on ocean and sailor themes from his upbringing in Foz do Douro, Porto. |
| Raul Marcel Barreto was a Brazilian goalkeeper. |
| Raul Malo is the lead singer and co-writer for the Mavericks, a country band he rejoined after a solo career, leading to their 2015 Americana award win. |
| Raúl Jiménez is a Mexican striker playing for Fulham and the Mexico national team. |
| Raúl is a legendary Spanish footballer and manager, celebrated as the all-time top Spanish goalscorer in the Champions League. |
| Raúl Castro is a retired Cuban general and politician who succeeded his brother Fidel as President and served as the Communist Party's first secretary. |
