Rulf is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The name Rulf came from the Norman given name Rudolph.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rulf research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1297, 1332, 1510, 1521 and 1557 are included under the topic Early Rulf History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Rulf Spelling Variations
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Rulf are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Rulf include Roffe, Rolfe, Rolph, Roalph, Roff, Ruff, Rouf and others.
Early Notables of the Rulf family
John Rough (died 1557), Scottish Protestant martyr, is stated to have been born in 1510, but as he was incorporated in St. Leonard's College in the university of St. Andrews in 1521. He was a close friend of John Knox and was soon summoned before Winram, the vicar-general of St. Andrews. Rough managed to leave for England before the surrender of... Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rulf Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Rulf family
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Rulf, or a variant listed above: James Rolfe and his wife Elizabeth Rolfe, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 with their son; Barbary Rofe who settled in New England in 1635; William Rofe, who arrived in Barbados in 1635.
