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Family name origins & meanings
- Italian : from a reduced form of the personal name Radulfo, composed of hrōd ‘renown’ + wulf ‘wolf’ (see Rolf).
- Indian (southern and western states and Orissa) : Hindu name found among several communities, from Sanskrit rājā ‘king’. It is freely added by men to their forename in several communities of Maharashtra, Goa, and Andhra Pradesh.
- Chinese :
from the name of an area called Rao, which existed in the state of Zhao during the Warring States period (403–221 bc).