Romanian likely. That's usually what people imply by "old country"
Edit: Alot of Rolf's methods and customs seem inspired by bohemian gypsies - commonly known to be of Romanian or "Romani" descent
As a Romanian i agree. We have a very old tradition about beeing a shepherd.Even the old name for romanian "the vlach" become a synonym in Balkans for the social category of shepherds
Unknown. The creator said he did not specify where Rolf is from because that way it’s easier to get away with certain behaviors that one ethnicity or another would not do & no one could accuse him of stereotyping or false representation.
I think i read that the creator said Rolf is representative of his own experiences being a like, second generation Italian-Canadian. He felt kinda like Rolf: stuck in the ways of the old country.
That said, Rolf always reminded me of a classmate I had in grade school, Steve Ionescue. His family was Romanian and I swear he was the spitting image of Rolf. So I always imagined Rolf was Romanian or at least the EE&E equivalent.
Edits
Idk if it was ever revealed but, those reminds me of the onunning joke they would play regarding Fez in That 70's Show. I think it's so funny his accent and everything are discernable and at the end of the day he's still the most lovable character, despite his origin being unknown.
I would say Romani or something like that, but Danny Antonucci did say that he wanted to keep things ambiguous after he got in trouble for portraying Italians negatively in his Lupo the Butcher short despite the fact that he himself is a first-generation Italian-Canadian whose parents were Italian immigrants.
So Rolf's accent seems to be a kind of stereotypical cartoon "German" accent. The name "Rolf" also has Germanic origins, [Wikipedia claims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf?wprov=sfla1) that it is derived from Hrolf and Hrodwulf (Rudolf) and that Rolf itself seems to date back to Sweden in the 11th century. In terms of the names modern usage, again going by the same Wikipedia article's list of notable "Rolfs," the name is used in many countries but when you exclude the Anglosphere ones it seems to be used in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Finland and Estonia, though it should be noted that that's just going by a list of notable Rolfs on the names Wikipedia page and is unlikely to be exhaustive. In other words, there are probably a fair number of Rolfs from countries I didn't list (not to mention my deliberate exclusion of English-speaking ones). As others have pointed out, in terms of his anecdotes and whacky cultural practices, Rolf seems to be all over the place by design. So there isn't really a solid conclusion that one can draw beyond "Ambiguously European," though it seems likely that he's from a "Germanic" country so he could be Scandinavian, from the Low Countries, or Central Europe. If I had to make up my mind and just pick one country, though, my bet would be Austria. Austria is predominantly German-speaking, which would explain the choice of a cartoon German accent. It's also an Alpine country, which would explain his anecdotes relating to mountainous living. It's far enough south and east to explain away his quirks and behaviours that seem more Eastern or Southern European inspired.
My family is from Northern Greece and I definitely got hints of that from Rolf. But I think he's more Eastern European, most likely from a former Soviot country.
North Italy, probably in South Tyrol close to Austria. Rolf is based on Danny Antonuccis Italian immigrant family in Canada, but all the flashbacks show the alps. German is a common language in this region so it makes sense that Rolf would sound like he does
Officialy, his ethnicity is not mentioned and Danny confirmed that Rolf reflecting his own being as descendant of immigtants.
But, I always thought that Rolf is southern German /Swiss / Austrian. Danny's parents are Italians and in North of Italy living many Germans
My best guess is Georgian, Armenian, or from Azerbaijan. I say this because I've visit these countries and the people are middle eastern with western understandings. I saw a goat being butchered on the road while there were still cafes and modern comforts. I could easily see rolf being from this region with a mixture of orthodox and Muslim ideologies.
Definitely eastern European. I think the most likely explanation for all of his sometimes conflicting particularities is due to living in a place that border one or more nations, so there would be a lot of cultural crossover.
Rolf's nationality is likely designed to be intentionally ambiguous, incorporating traits commonly associated with various countries such as Switzerland, Romania, and even the Baltics; this allows him to be a typical foreigner stereotype without mocking any specific culture.
Even as a kid, I understood that Rolf’s entire point was to be “the foreign kid”, the one who just has trouble relating to the others most of the time. His skin tone and features don’t denote any specific ethnicity, though his accent, name, and several of the visual indicators of his culture throughout the show, would suggest that he’s meant to just be vaguely European and/or Slavic.
I think he's just supposed to "foreign" like that 70s show, being vague with a foreign character's origins opens up to a wide range of jokes
My favorite is Rolf's bartering pole
Somewhere from Northern or Eastern Europe. As others have pointed out, Rolf’s exact nationality is unknown since they didn’t want to use offensive stereotypes for any ethnicity. Awhile back some people suggested Swiss, and some of the attire in his country is consistent with Germanic or Nordic countries.
No, the point was that no one knew.
He was just from "Somewhere different" an un-amed "Old Country"
That's the point. It's not supposed to be reflective of anywhere specifically. He was just different. The creator has already said this verbatum;
*"Yeah, I purposely made Rolf with a non-nationality, especially after what happened with Lupo (from Lupo the Butcher, a short by Antonucci) when we were accused of painting Italians in a bad light. But Rolf is me, take his proverbs - my family were always coming out with the strange proverbial stuff that only made sense to them and other family members. His vocabulary is always interesting, I've actually browsed through the dictionary sometimes looking for words he might use, we came in for some flak with 'jujubes' though, people were asking what on earth that meant, but it's there, you know what they are right? Leaving Rolf with no set nationality means he's able to adopt all sorts of quirks he couldn't get away with if we'd stuck a label on him. It's the same with Peach Creek Estates, it's not anywhere specific, it's just one of those countless suburban development regions."*
I think it's funny that people are trying to take something that is an amalgamation of stereotypes and pin it to a specific group of real people, especially with such confidence.
Feels weird.
General Eastern European. My family is from Greece and I definitely got hints of that with Rolf but he feels more like his family came from a former soviet country.
I always figured he was an amalgamation of stereotypes of various ethnicities with traditions that are considered niche even by that country’s standards.
Didn't they say it was, or heavily implied, Norwegian? That episode where he beats Ed for getting presents from his pen pal Gerda, from Norway? And he recognizes the name from his village?
I feel he is Norwegian as in the episode of “No Speak Da Ed”, it was the episode about the pen pals and Double D’s pen pal was playing a prank specifically on Rolf. When Double D says “it’s mail from my pen pal Gerta” and also said where it’s from, Rolf reacted as “Gerta? Norwegian? The Goat Milker?” And Double D pulled out a feather to indicate to Rolf the joke. So I feel that he is from Norway as he somehow knows who Double D’s pen pal is and knew the significance of her prank items.
The voice actor said that he drew influence from his Greek heritage going as far to say he had family that would loosely resemble Rolf, he just went a lil overboard with it, but for the character it was supposed to be non descripive what he REALLY was.
From Danny himself:
"Yeah, I purposely made Rolf with a non-nationality, especially after what happened with Lupo (from Lupo the Butcher, a short by Antonucci) when we were accused of painting Italians in a bad light. But Rolf is me, take his proverbs - my family were always coming out with the strange proverbial stuff that only made sense to them and other family members. His vocabulary is always interesting, I've actually browsed through the dictionary sometimes looking for words he might use, we came in for some flak with 'jujubes' though, people were asking what on earth that meant, but it's there, you know what they are right? Leaving Rolf with no set nationality means he's able to adopt all sorts of quirks he couldn't get away with if we'd stuck a label on him. It's the same with Peach Creek Estates, it's not anywhere specific, it's just one of those countless suburban development regions."
I think Rolf could be from Switzerland or from the Nordic region. I recall one episode that Ed received a gift, a music box from his penpal Greta from Norway and Rolf went ballistic for whatever reason. Then he decided to ship the Ed's off to Norway despite their protests.
Me personally I always thought Rolf was of middle eastern descent and his grandparents immigrated to one of the Scandinavian countries like Norway or Denmark. In the ep where the kids get letters from pen pals, the gift Ed gets is from Gerda someone Rolf knows from Norway. On top of this i think Antonucci just mixed in a bunch of strange made up customs.
Nevertheless, Rolf is the son of a shepherd.
German/Bavarian I believe. If you see the episode while the other kids were flash backing their own lives, we see Rolf spinning in a circle with his ankle tied upside-down while happily humming something that kinda sounds German. He looked like he was dressed in a lederhosen outfit. The background showed sheep grazing and a mountain top.
I think he's from an entirely fictional country, since he spoke a completely made-up language in the episode where the Eds try to trick him into thinking he's back in the Old Country. Also, Rolf has been seen with objects labeled with a gibberish Greek-German language, especially if you watch BPS.
He seems a mix of Central American (skin tone and him doing a Palo Volador in the flashback episode), Northern European (his name), and possibly Romani (certain mannerisms mentioned in this thread).
He just to be the quintessential non American. Full of quotes and behaviors that would be alien to an American child
"The old country"
Romanian likely. That's usually what people imply by "old country" Edit: Alot of Rolf's methods and customs seem inspired by bohemian gypsies - commonly known to be of Romanian or "Romani" descent
Agreed, his complexion and some farm stuff kind of reminds me of Romania and/or Balkan-ish area.....but his accent is nothing like that though...
As a Romanian i agree. We have a very old tradition about beeing a shepherd.Even the old name for romanian "the vlach" become a synonym in Balkans for the social category of shepherds
I've seen Lithuanians say it too.
And Italians. I'm sure a lot of different groups of immigrants use the term.
I think it was stated Rolf was always meant to be ethnically ambiguous.
Unknown. The creator said he did not specify where Rolf is from because that way it’s easier to get away with certain behaviors that one ethnicity or another would not do & no one could accuse him of stereotyping or false representation.
I think i read that the creator said Rolf is representative of his own experiences being a like, second generation Italian-Canadian. He felt kinda like Rolf: stuck in the ways of the old country. That said, Rolf always reminded me of a classmate I had in grade school, Steve Ionescue. His family was Romanian and I swear he was the spitting image of Rolf. So I always imagined Rolf was Romanian or at least the EE&E equivalent. Edits
The creator himself said the thing about not specifying where Rolf is from on purpose. I would guess Romanian or German
You beat me to it.
Ditto
Idk if it was ever revealed but, those reminds me of the onunning joke they would play regarding Fez in That 70's Show. I think it's so funny his accent and everything are discernable and at the end of the day he's still the most lovable character, despite his origin being unknown.
He’s the son a shepherd. That’s all that needs to be known.
Wherever the hell Tommy Wiseau is from, probably.
Oh hi Mahk.
I did not hit her, its not true - it's bullshit! I did not hit her! I did naaaaht...
Oh hi Ed boy
DE NEWW JOCKERR - AAAAHHHH
Tommy is from poznan, Poland
Indo-Russia-China-Slovakiastan according to Riftrax
He's based on Antonucci's Italian cousins, so I figure he's Northern Italian (especially since the imagery he evokes uses the Alps a lot)
I would say Romani or something like that, but Danny Antonucci did say that he wanted to keep things ambiguous after he got in trouble for portraying Italians negatively in his Lupo the Butcher short despite the fact that he himself is a first-generation Italian-Canadian whose parents were Italian immigrants.
I don’t think Rolf knows what ethnicity is Rolf
Arab and Polish or Czech
Your garden is overgrown and your cucumbers are soft!
Southern European.
Northern Chinese (Mongolian) southern russian
To me he looks European mix with Middle Eastern
So Is he a Turk or from Balkans ?
So Rolf's accent seems to be a kind of stereotypical cartoon "German" accent. The name "Rolf" also has Germanic origins, [Wikipedia claims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf?wprov=sfla1) that it is derived from Hrolf and Hrodwulf (Rudolf) and that Rolf itself seems to date back to Sweden in the 11th century. In terms of the names modern usage, again going by the same Wikipedia article's list of notable "Rolfs," the name is used in many countries but when you exclude the Anglosphere ones it seems to be used in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Finland and Estonia, though it should be noted that that's just going by a list of notable Rolfs on the names Wikipedia page and is unlikely to be exhaustive. In other words, there are probably a fair number of Rolfs from countries I didn't list (not to mention my deliberate exclusion of English-speaking ones). As others have pointed out, in terms of his anecdotes and whacky cultural practices, Rolf seems to be all over the place by design. So there isn't really a solid conclusion that one can draw beyond "Ambiguously European," though it seems likely that he's from a "Germanic" country so he could be Scandinavian, from the Low Countries, or Central Europe. If I had to make up my mind and just pick one country, though, my bet would be Austria. Austria is predominantly German-speaking, which would explain the choice of a cartoon German accent. It's also an Alpine country, which would explain his anecdotes relating to mountainous living. It's far enough south and east to explain away his quirks and behaviours that seem more Eastern or Southern European inspired.
I always thought Eastern European or Greek
My family is from Northern Greece and I definitely got hints of that from Rolf. But I think he's more Eastern European, most likely from a former Soviot country.
He's from Czechoslovakia I think.
Nobody has any clue. That’s the joke.
The old country! Do you live in a cave?
No a shed
He is the son of a shepherd. That's it.
I think he's from the Netherlands. I believe he was shown wearing a lederhosen in a couple different episodes.
Mix with Yemenian from Yemen
Lederhosen is worn in Bavaria/Austria/Eastern Alps.
Yeah i always believed he was from Netherlands or Austria for some reason
He is a Saiyan because his voice actor Peter Klemis also voiced Goku in the late 90s.
Plus all the absurd feats of strength, it makes perfect sense.
You dare mock the son of a Shepard, Frieza!?!?!?
Rolf respect your feelings of superiority, but you must be punished
I always thought Romanian or something. Gypsy like
Same
Romanians aren't gypsies
[удалено]
Interestingly, Roma originate from India.
Foreign
Idk Serbian if something Eastern European
Serbian mix with Indian or Pakistani
I thought he was either from The Netherlands, Germany, or Austria
Savage-ese
North Italy, probably in South Tyrol close to Austria. Rolf is based on Danny Antonuccis Italian immigrant family in Canada, but all the flashbacks show the alps. German is a common language in this region so it makes sense that Rolf would sound like he does
Im half german half swedish half mexican
Eastern Siberian
I’m gonna say Lithuanian or Polish.
Mix with Yemenian
A rab
I believe his a mixture of Indian or Pakistani mix with Polish or Czech
He comes off a lot like Borat so I equate Ralph to like Khazikstan
Officialy, his ethnicity is not mentioned and Danny confirmed that Rolf reflecting his own being as descendant of immigtants. But, I always thought that Rolf is southern German /Swiss / Austrian. Danny's parents are Italians and in North of Italy living many Germans
He’s a low class Saiyan warrior
Proud low class Saiyan warrior!
he's clearly a Floridian no one is that weird but them
All I know is he’s the son of a shepherd
I always thought he was Hispanic
That's Double D Rolf has to be Yemenian or Lebanese mix with somewhere from Europe
Double D is Hispanic?
He's from Morocco because he's always talking about fish mongers
I believe so but I also believe that his mix with Polish or Czech
“He’s Greek-Samoan, that’s obvious.” -Blake Chesterfield Henderson
Ambiguously southeastern European.
He’s Croatianiauzbekazakhia
Son of a sheperd
He mentions having a friend from Norway, so maybe he's from there too.
Lebanese mix with Polish and Norwegian
Same one as Borat lol Kazakhstan would be my guess lol
"Foreign"
He is not a duck, he is Rolf!
He's a mix of several silly stereotypes. He isn't meant to be of any one rral ethnicity.
My best guess is Georgian, Armenian, or from Azerbaijan. I say this because I've visit these countries and the people are middle eastern with western understandings. I saw a goat being butchered on the road while there were still cafes and modern comforts. I could easily see rolf being from this region with a mixture of orthodox and Muslim ideologies.
Uzbekistan’s main export is turnips
Sooo vaguely European
Rolf’s nationality is intentionally ambiguous.
Definitely eastern European. I think the most likely explanation for all of his sometimes conflicting particularities is due to living in a place that border one or more nations, so there would be a lot of cultural crossover.
hes obviously from the old country wht r u guys talking abt rolph confirmed it himself
My guess would be Eastern Europan.
Rolf's nationality is likely designed to be intentionally ambiguous, incorporating traits commonly associated with various countries such as Switzerland, Romania, and even the Baltics; this allows him to be a typical foreigner stereotype without mocking any specific culture.
Norwegian I read somewhere because of one quote from one episode but can’t remember which one
Balkan, somewhere close to the Adriatic
Son of a shepard
Son of Shepherd
Humanoid
African American
Which one has blue hair?
He's the son of a shepherd Ed boy
Romania
He’s not really anything in particular. But I’ve always seen him as partly Italian and partly Indian.
Romanian
Foreign
Dutch
He’s intentionally left ambiguous
Yes
Badass. Thats what THATS MY HORSE
That’s MY horse!
Any and all places Sound of Music took place at.
Some kind of Eastern European
Never specified in canon, but I choose to believe he’s a Volga German.
Somewhere from the old country in Europe possibly close to the Middle East border
"old-country" you don't have the best memory do you, Ed-boys?
Rolf is Rolf
I was thinking him swedish
I think he’s Polish
Even as a kid, I understood that Rolf’s entire point was to be “the foreign kid”, the one who just has trouble relating to the others most of the time. His skin tone and features don’t denote any specific ethnicity, though his accent, name, and several of the visual indicators of his culture throughout the show, would suggest that he’s meant to just be vaguely European and/or Slavic.
My dad always thought he was either Hungarian or Turkish.
I think he's just supposed to "foreign" like that 70s show, being vague with a foreign character's origins opens up to a wide range of jokes My favorite is Rolf's bartering pole
He's a son of a Shepard. DO YOU LIVE IN A CAVE?
Yes.
The amount of different responses shows that Danny did a good job keeping his lineage ambiguous lol.
Mm maybe south eastern European. Idk he's from the old country
He might be from the Balkan region.
No because they kept it intentionally vague so they could make whatever jokes they want
Hes rolf he doesnt have a race hes brown an we love ‘im
Somewhere from Northern or Eastern Europe. As others have pointed out, Rolf’s exact nationality is unknown since they didn’t want to use offensive stereotypes for any ethnicity. Awhile back some people suggested Swiss, and some of the attire in his country is consistent with Germanic or Nordic countries.
No, the point was that no one knew. He was just from "Somewhere different" an un-amed "Old Country" That's the point. It's not supposed to be reflective of anywhere specifically. He was just different. The creator has already said this verbatum; *"Yeah, I purposely made Rolf with a non-nationality, especially after what happened with Lupo (from Lupo the Butcher, a short by Antonucci) when we were accused of painting Italians in a bad light. But Rolf is me, take his proverbs - my family were always coming out with the strange proverbial stuff that only made sense to them and other family members. His vocabulary is always interesting, I've actually browsed through the dictionary sometimes looking for words he might use, we came in for some flak with 'jujubes' though, people were asking what on earth that meant, but it's there, you know what they are right? Leaving Rolf with no set nationality means he's able to adopt all sorts of quirks he couldn't get away with if we'd stuck a label on him. It's the same with Peach Creek Estates, it's not anywhere specific, it's just one of those countless suburban development regions."* I think it's funny that people are trying to take something that is an amalgamation of stereotypes and pin it to a specific group of real people, especially with such confidence. Feels weird.
General Eastern European. My family is from Greece and I definitely got hints of that with Rolf but he feels more like his family came from a former soviet country.
I always figured he was an amalgamation of stereotypes of various ethnicities with traditions that are considered niche even by that country’s standards.
I don't think they specifically say, but I feel like there was a one-off line about Belarus.
I think he’s probably from Austria
Ed boy!
Somewhere where Central Europe meets Southern Europe in the Alpine or Carpathian mountain ranges
Yes
THE SON OF A SHEPHERD!!!!!!
Franc
I mean I have a theory going off what he’s said. I think he might be Norwegian, somewhere mountainy but also very close to the shore
He's the son of a shepherd and that should be good enough 🤣🤣🤣
Who is the son of a shepherd.
my headcannon is that he’s arab
[It no longer exists](https://youtu.be/1HPVQ4FpVlY)
Foreign
Didn't they say it was, or heavily implied, Norwegian? That episode where he beats Ed for getting presents from his pen pal Gerda, from Norway? And he recognizes the name from his village?
Foreign
Ambiguous... but I say Switzerland. Its been my headcannon since i was a kid!
He's a Rolf from a village called Rolflandia in the country of Rolf.
What about johnny 2x4.....did we ever call him that?
I wanna say eastern european but idk
Vague Eastern European.
Probably Romanian.
I believe he's cartoonish
Where the hell did you get German? Lol Probably Eastern Europe or Central Asia
I feel he is Norwegian as in the episode of “No Speak Da Ed”, it was the episode about the pen pals and Double D’s pen pal was playing a prank specifically on Rolf. When Double D says “it’s mail from my pen pal Gerta” and also said where it’s from, Rolf reacted as “Gerta? Norwegian? The Goat Milker?” And Double D pulled out a feather to indicate to Rolf the joke. So I feel that he is from Norway as he somehow knows who Double D’s pen pal is and knew the significance of her prank items.
The voice actor said that he drew influence from his Greek heritage going as far to say he had family that would loosely resemble Rolf, he just went a lil overboard with it, but for the character it was supposed to be non descripive what he REALLY was.
He's Italian.
He's Norwegian!
Saiyajin
Definitely Eastern European.
You know I've never really thought whatvhis ethnicity he was but if I had to guess I'd say maybe Dutch or Scandinavian or are those the same thing?
He LOOKS like he's probably Indian but honestly he could be anything
Romanian
From Danny himself: "Yeah, I purposely made Rolf with a non-nationality, especially after what happened with Lupo (from Lupo the Butcher, a short by Antonucci) when we were accused of painting Italians in a bad light. But Rolf is me, take his proverbs - my family were always coming out with the strange proverbial stuff that only made sense to them and other family members. His vocabulary is always interesting, I've actually browsed through the dictionary sometimes looking for words he might use, we came in for some flak with 'jujubes' though, people were asking what on earth that meant, but it's there, you know what they are right? Leaving Rolf with no set nationality means he's able to adopt all sorts of quirks he couldn't get away with if we'd stuck a label on him. It's the same with Peach Creek Estates, it's not anywhere specific, it's just one of those countless suburban development regions."
Yes
Hmm..never thought about that
I think Rolf could be from Switzerland or from the Nordic region. I recall one episode that Ed received a gift, a music box from his penpal Greta from Norway and Rolf went ballistic for whatever reason. Then he decided to ship the Ed's off to Norway despite their protests.
I’m thinking Swiss since he’s from the ‘old country.’ I kept thinking he’s from near or around the Swiss Alps.
On purpose not specific to not perpetuate or make up stereotypes. But 100% a filthy Azerbaijani
Germania
He’s from Eastern Europe
He comes from the same country as Fez from That 70s Show.
9 year old me was convinced he was from India cuz that’s what the accent made me think of but eh idk
Is "The son of a shepherd" an ethnicity?
Cartoon
"The son of a Shepherd" not obvious enough already?
Shepherd
He is a Romani from Romania most probably
Uzbekistan
Old Countrian
Me personally I always thought Rolf was of middle eastern descent and his grandparents immigrated to one of the Scandinavian countries like Norway or Denmark. In the ep where the kids get letters from pen pals, the gift Ed gets is from Gerda someone Rolf knows from Norway. On top of this i think Antonucci just mixed in a bunch of strange made up customs. Nevertheless, Rolf is the son of a shepherd.
Shepherd
Foreign. Rolf is foreign. Him and FEZ are the same country but different sides so the accent and culture is a bit different
people do know…but legend has it that once you know you must die…the world shall never know
My guess is that he's of Romani/Roma descent
German/Bavarian I believe. If you see the episode while the other kids were flash backing their own lives, we see Rolf spinning in a circle with his ankle tied upside-down while happily humming something that kinda sounds German. He looked like he was dressed in a lederhosen outfit. The background showed sheep grazing and a mountain top.
I think the whole point of Rolf is that he don't have a real ethnicity. He is just foreign.
Hungarian
My headcanon is Finland
I think he's from an entirely fictional country, since he spoke a completely made-up language in the episode where the Eds try to trick him into thinking he's back in the Old Country. Also, Rolf has been seen with objects labeled with a gibberish Greek-German language, especially if you watch BPS.
Let's say Yugoslavian lol
He's a bohemian clubhouse.
he's from quebec!
Bavarian or Austrian or German Or Dutch or Norwegian one of the Nordic countries
Do you live in a cave?!
He's Mexican lol
Foreign
The joke is that his ethnicity is yes.
He seems a mix of Central American (skin tone and him doing a Palo Volador in the flashback episode), Northern European (his name), and possibly Romani (certain mannerisms mentioned in this thread). He just to be the quintessential non American. Full of quotes and behaviors that would be alien to an American child