The family name Rawls comes from the "Olde German" name 'Rolf.' This in turn comes from the Viking clan Hrolfr," which translates roughly to '"Fame-Wolf." The Rawls name didn't show up in England until the 13th Century. The first recorded instance of what became the Rawls family name being recorded was that of Turstinus Filius Rolf in the 1086 Domesday Book of Norfolk. complied while King William 1 (William The Conqueror) reigned between 1066 - 1087.