Rudy is the short form of Rudolph, a Germanic name that combines hrod, "fame", and wolf and means "famous wolf". The 1993 film Rudy, about the Notre Dame walk-on football player Rudy Ruettiger, made it a name for underdogs with heart. Rudy ranked number 547 in 2000, hovered in the 800s for most of the last decade and moved up to number 739 in 2025.