Arnulfo
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Meaning
Spanish form of the Germanic Arnulf, combining arn, "eagle", and wulf, "wolf"
The story
Arnulfo begins with an eagle and a wolf, but a name’s history can ask us to look beyond its animals. The Spanish form of Arnulf combines Germanic arn, "eagle", and wulf, "wolf"; the related Italian spelling is Arnolfo. Centuries earlier, Arnulf, bishop of Metz, entered the family line that ran through Pippin II and Charles Martel to Charlemagne. Arnulfo also appears within the full name of Óscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, who defended vulnerable people against human-rights violations. Romero lived at the Divine Providence cancer hospital, where he was killed while celebrating Mass in the chapel in 1980. The United Nations chose the anniversary of his assassination for its observance honoring victims and the right to truth. Between a medieval family line and Romero’s defense of human dignity, this formidable compound has traveled through more than one kind of public memory.
How popular is Arnulfo around the world?
In the United States, 129 babies were named Arnulfo between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Arnulfo in 2022.
Arnulfo is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 170,000
In the United States, 129 babies were named Arnulfo between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Arnulfo peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Arnulfo in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 220,000
In Spain, 202 residents are named Arnulfo, ranked 4,606th among men, with a mean age of 55.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 85 people in Brazil were named Arnulfo, ranked 46,211th, with a median age of 61.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
last on record 2000
Arnulfo is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
last on record 1944
Arnulfo is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Argentina, Puerto Rico, England and Wales, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Arnulfo
Most people given the name Arnulfo in the United States were born between 1960 and 2009. The Arnulfo you meet today is most often in his 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Arnulfo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Arnulfo truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Arnulfo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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