Rod
Rod was last recorded in 2023, when 7 babies were given it; 8,744 Americans have been recorded with it between 1910 and 2023 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,410 Americans named Rod and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (73% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 57 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rod by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rod mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rod is “a nickname for the male given names Rodney and Roderick.” Its etymology gives the sense “fame” (*hrōþiz).
Abbreviated form of Rodney and of Roderick, both with roots originating from Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rod?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #10,578, in 2023; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
496 babies in 1960, the peak
Rod peaked in 1960, when 496 boys were given it, #350 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 | #10,578 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 7 | #10,563 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 11 | #7,501 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 6 | #11,802 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 5 | #13,647 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 9 | #8,623 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 8 | #9,520 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 7 | #10,539 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 6 | #11,886 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #14,067 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (101)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 7 | #10,779 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 13 | #6,534 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 12 | #6,819 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 10 | #7,535 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 8 | #8,750 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 16 | #4,987 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 11 | #6,427 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 13 | #5,603 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 18 | #4,339 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 16 | #4,491 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 17 | #4,157 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 23 | #3,240 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 15 | #4,343 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 26 | #2,828 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 25 | #2,920 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 23 | #3,010 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 31 | #2,395 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 17 | #3,594 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 36 | #2,072 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 28 | #2,394 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 35 | #1,899 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 26 | #2,256 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 29 | #2,045 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 28 | #2,056 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 35 | #1,683 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 35 | #1,680 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 26 | #2,099 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 34 | #1,719 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 40 | #1,540 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 50 | #1,314 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 47 | #1,347 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 59 | #1,138 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 58 | #1,120 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 78 | #931 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 80 | #910 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 82 | #883 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 121 | #726 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 155 | #663 | 0.09 |
| 1970 | 193 | #581 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 220 | #530 | 0.12 |
| 1968 | 233 | #496 | 0.13 |
| 1967 | 335 | #418 | 0.19 |
| 1966 | 352 | #402 | 0.20 |
| 1965 | 494 | #344 | 0.27 |
| 1964 | 367 | #423 | 0.18 |
| 1963 | 405 | #401 | 0.20 |
| 1962 | 425 | #393 | 0.21 |
| 1961 | 419 | #390 | 0.20 |
| 1960 | 496 | #350 | 0.23 |
| 1959 | 481 | #358 | 0.23 |
| 1958 | 349 | #420 | 0.16 |
| 1957 | 324 | #431 | 0.15 |
| 1956 | 212 | #518 | 0.10 |
| 1955 | 156 | #587 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 141 | #622 | 0.07 |
| 1953 | 109 | #684 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 93 | #731 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 78 | #800 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 82 | #758 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 107 | #666 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 152 | #538 | 0.09 |
| 1947 | 191 | #486 | 0.10 |
| 1946 | 171 | #493 | 0.11 |
| 1945 | 95 | #623 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 74 | #728 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 71 | #777 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 58 | #865 | 0.04 |
| 1941 | 37 | #1,088 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 34 | #1,153 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 41 | #1,004 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 22 | #1,468 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 29 | #1,262 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 25 | #1,352 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 28 | #1,291 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 15 | #1,915 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 27 | #1,303 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 16 | #1,907 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 12 | #2,305 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 17 | #1,880 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 14 | #2,176 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 16 | #2,033 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 11 | #2,673 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 8 | #3,345 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 8 | #3,407 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 7 | #3,803 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 8 | #3,436 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 9 | #3,061 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 6 | #3,813 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 6 | #3,752 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,660 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 6 | #1,554 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Rod a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rod has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 101 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Rod: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rod, and how old are they?
6,410 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 73% of the 8,744 Americans ever recorded as Rod. The median Rod alive today is 63 years old; half are between 57 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 12,112 people named Rod (35 women and girls, 12,077 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,989 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.7 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Rod rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 175 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,350 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,230 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 426 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 186 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 45 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Rod born?
The states with the most babies named Rod are California, Ohio and Michigan, with 40% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,490 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Ohio | 440 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 439 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Washington | 421 | not ranked | 3.0× |
| Illinois | 324 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 285 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Indiana | 261 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 245 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Oregon | 243 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 230 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Rod is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rod is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 3.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Rod with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 9,570 babies since 1880, Rod is the most given (91% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rod
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rod and names like it
- Compare Rod and RoddBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sRod peaked in 1960.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rod since 1910.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Rod.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Rod alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.