Rodney
Rodney was given to 197 boys in 2025, #1,093 among boys’ names; 248,325 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 182,000 Americans named Rodney and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (73% of everyone recorded); the median is 59 years old and half are between 49 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rodney by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rodney mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rodney is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “Hroda's island” (literally) and “fame” (*hrōþiz) and “island” (*awjō).
From Old English placename Hrōdanīeġ, Hrōdanīġ (literally “Hroda’s island”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”) and *awjō (“island”).
/ˈɹɑdni/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rodney?
#1,093 among boys’ names, 2025
Rodney fell from #716 in 2015 to #1,093 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.18 to 0.12 per 1,000.
11,132 babies in 1965, the peak
Rodney peaked in 1965, when 11,132 babies were given it (11,086 boys, #33 among boys’ names). The 197 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 197 | #1,093 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 202 | #1,080 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 183 | #1,148 | 0.11 |
| 2022 | 228 | #990 | 0.13 |
| 2021 | 234 | #962 | 0.13 |
| 2020 | 262 | #864 | 0.15 |
| 2019 | 262 | #854 | 0.15 |
| 2018 | 273 | #821 | 0.15 |
| 2017 | 301 | #782 | 0.16 |
| 2016 | 341 | #719 | 0.18 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 347 | #716 | 0.18 |
| 2014 | 357 | #697 | 0.19 |
| 2013 | 392 | #629 | 0.21 |
| 2012 | 430 | #594 | 0.23 |
| 2011 | 461 | #554 | 0.24 |
| 2010 | 460 | #549 | 0.24 |
| 2009 | 554 | #494 | 0.28 |
| 2008 | 545 | #503 | 0.27 |
| 2007 | 639 | #438 | 0.31 |
| 2006 | 606 | #447 | 0.29 |
| 2005 | 579 | #447 | 0.29 |
| 2004 | 602 | #432 | 0.30 |
| 2003 | 688 | #379 | 0.35 |
| 2002 | 714 | #370 | 0.37 |
| 2001 | 740 | #358 | 0.38 |
| 2000 | 799 | #342 | 0.41 |
| 1999 | 868 | #321 | 0.45 |
| 1998 | 866 | #319 | 0.45 |
| 1997 | 995 | #280 | 0.53 |
| 1996 | 1,055 | #267 | 0.56 |
| 1995 | 1,099 | #256 | 0.58 |
| 1994 | 1,183 | #244 | 0.61 |
| 1993 | 1,309 | #225 | 0.67 |
| 1992 | 1,477 | #210 | 0.74 |
| 1991 | 1,560 | #198 | 0.77 |
| 1990 | 1,710 | #181 | 0.83 |
| 1989 | 1,737 | #177 | 0.87 |
| 1988 | 1,730 | #162 | 0.90 |
| 1987 | 1,596 | #171 | 0.85 |
| 1986 | 1,629 | #166 | 0.88 |
| 1985 | 1,621 | #168 | 0.88 |
| 1984 | 1,626 | #165 | 0.90 |
| 1983 | 1,692 | #161 | 0.94 |
| 1982 | 1,947 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1981 | 2,028 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1980 | 2,266 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1979 | 2,300 | #117 | 1.3 |
| 1978 | 2,554 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1977 | 2,703 | #97 | 1.6 |
| 1976 | 2,984 | #88 | 1.9 |
| 1975 | 3,583 | #76 | 2.3 |
| 1974 | 3,849 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1973 | 4,059 | #68 | 2.6 |
| 1972 | 4,363 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1971 | 5,195 | #59 | 2.9 |
| 1970 | 5,856 | #55 | 3.2 |
| 1969 | 6,669 | #49 | 3.7 |
| 1968 | 7,505 | #42 | 4.3 |
| 1967 | 8,440 | #37 | 4.8 |
| 1966 | 10,268 | #35 | 5.8 |
| 1965 | 11,086 | #33 | 6.0 |
| 1964 | 6,073 | #59 | 3.0 |
| 1963 | 5,193 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1962 | 5,435 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1961 | 5,660 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1960 | 5,865 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1959 | 5,917 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1958 | 5,865 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1957 | 5,862 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1956 | 6,076 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1955 | 6,047 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1954 | 5,959 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1953 | 6,536 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1952 | 4,403 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1951 | 4,296 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1950 | 3,856 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1949 | 3,826 | #87 | 2.2 |
| 1948 | 3,466 | #92 | 2.0 |
| 1947 | 3,564 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1946 | 3,304 | #93 | 2.0 |
| 1945 | 2,185 | #105 | 1.6 |
| 1944 | 1,781 | #123 | 1.3 |
| 1943 | 1,984 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1942 | 1,788 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1941 | 1,551 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1940 | 1,397 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1939 | 1,446 | #122 | 1.3 |
| 1938 | 1,302 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1937 | 1,025 | #151 | 1.0 |
| 1936 | 1,009 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1935 | 1,027 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1934 | 929 | #160 | 0.90 |
| 1933 | 783 | #173 | 0.79 |
| 1932 | 829 | #172 | 0.79 |
| 1931 | 706 | #187 | 0.68 |
| 1930 | 639 | #208 | 0.58 |
| 1929 | 539 | #233 | 0.50 |
| 1928 | 589 | #223 | 0.53 |
| 1927 | 562 | #236 | 0.50 |
| 1926 | 482 | #256 | 0.43 |
| 1925 | 447 | #271 | 0.40 |
| 1924 | 397 | #290 | 0.35 |
| 1923 | 389 | #286 | 0.35 |
| 1922 | 400 | #278 | 0.37 |
| 1921 | 361 | #298 | 0.33 |
| 1920 | 353 | #304 | 0.33 |
| 1919 | 315 | #313 | 0.32 |
| 1918 | 253 | #369 | 0.25 |
| 1917 | 234 | #363 | 0.25 |
| 1916 | 237 | #350 | 0.27 |
| 1915 | 235 | #349 | 0.28 |
| 1914 | 189 | #337 | 0.29 |
| 1913 | 131 | #365 | 0.26 |
| 1912 | 88 | #417 | 0.20 |
| 1911 | 59 | #360 | 0.26 |
| 1910 | 34 | #477 | 0.18 |
| 1909 | 25 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1908 | 27 | #487 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 17 | #632 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 29 | #406 | 0.22 |
| 1905 | 20 | #520 | 0.15 |
| 1904 | 13 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1903 | 13 | #650 | 0.11 |
| 1902 | 19 | #502 | 0.15 |
| 1901 | 10 | #719 | 0.09 |
| 1900 | 21 | #530 | 0.14 |
| 1899 | 18 | #451 | 0.17 |
| 1898 | 20 | #469 | 0.16 |
| 1897 | 17 | #489 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 14 | #583 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 19 | #472 | 0.16 |
| 1894 | 9 | #777 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 19 | #429 | 0.17 |
| 1892 | 16 | #516 | 0.13 |
| 1891 | 11 | #584 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 19 | #422 | 0.17 |
| 1889 | 9 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 12 | #601 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 9 | #671 | 0.09 |
| 1886 | 14 | #504 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 13 | #542 | 0.12 |
| 1884 | 13 | #541 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 11 | #587 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 12 | #571 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 6 | #848 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 13 | #520 | 0.12 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Rodney a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rodney has been given almost only to boys: 1,175 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Rodney: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rodney, and how old are they?
182,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 73% of the 248,325 Americans ever recorded as Rodney. The median Rodney alive today is 59 years old; half are between 49 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 172,298 people named Rodney (264 women and girls, 172,034 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 196,421 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 5,380 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 65,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 72,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 23,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 10,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,550 |
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 Rodney born?
The states with the most babies named Rodney are California, Texas and Ohio, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 17,726 | #1,798 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 16,080 | #1,161 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 12,988 | #997 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 11,433 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 11,433 | #1,087 | 1.1× |
| New York | 11,402 | #1,275 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 10,842 | #1,208 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 9,510 | #816 | 1.4× |
| Georgia | 8,210 | #751 | 1.3× |
| Florida | 7,712 | #1,113 | 1.1× |
Where Rodney is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rodney is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 Rodney 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 248,385 babies since 1880, Rodney is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 197 of their 197 babies (100%), again the most given.
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 Rodney
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 Rodney and names like it
- Compare Rodney and RodnyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sRodney peaked in 1965.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rodney since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Rodney: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1965The year the most babies were named Rodney.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Rodney alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with RMost given first.