Ralph m. Old Saxon rād, Old High German rāt 'counsel, advice' + Old High German wolf, Gothic wulf 'wolf'.
The name of a 7th C king of Thuringia.
The vernacular English forms Rau, Rauf, and Rawe are witnessed in 1379 in the relational bynames Raussoñ (WRYPT1 p. 24), Raufsoñ (WRYPT1 p. 41), and Raweson (WRYPT1 p. 43). In France, the name developed into Raoul.