Rudolf

American  

[roo-dolf] / ˈru dɒlf /

noun

1. Max, 1902–1994, U.S. orchestra conductor, born in Germany.

2. Lake Rudolf, former name of Turkana.

3. a male given name, form of Rolf.

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Rudolf ¹ British  

/ ˈruːdɒlf /

noun

1. the former name (until 1979) of (Lake) Turkana

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Rudolf ² British  

/ ˈruːdɒlf /

noun

1. 1858–89, archduke of Austria, son of emperor Franz Joseph: he and his mistress committed suicide at the royal hunting lodge in Mayerling

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Example Sentences

Rudolf Virchow, a 19th-century Prussian pathologist, considered organisms a kind of “cellular democracy,” a harmonious republic of cooperating cells.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

It's also got a proper tree with decorations, there's a Rudolf reindeer toy and they've put some thought into all the splashes of red.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

I got in and found myself sitting next to Rudolf Nureyev.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

The Nazi officer made commandant of the concentration camp, Rudolf Höss, brought the motto Arbeit Macht Frei - works sets you free - from another camp where he had worked, at Dachau in Germany.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025

As he resumed his studies, Farmer discovered the work of a little-known German physician, biologist, philosopher, anthropologist, and politician—a polymath—named Rudolf Virchow.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French