The name Ralph was usually pronounced /RAFE/ in England. It was originally spelled Ralf, but the -ph spelling appeared in the 18th century. The "l" in the middle, as in "walk," "palm" etc. was silent, used to reflect the pronunciation of the "a" rather than be pronounced itself. Eventually the pronunciation began to reflect the spelling, and Ralph became /RALF/, as "golf" became "GAWLF" (its original pronunciation was /GOFF/) In Britain, Ralph is sometimes still pronounced /RAFE/, though I think that's more of an upper-class/educated thing. See Also: Ralph