boys' name ★ peaked 1957

Rocky

Gender Boy · 2% girls Rank 2025 #568 Trend ↑ Rising 62%

A diminutive of the male given names Robert, Ricky, Rocco, Roch, and Rock.

Rank 2025
#568
among boys · ↑88 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
563
named Rocky · +23% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,285
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1957
920 babies
All-time total
29,134
#696 all-time among boys
First recorded
1913
in Social Security records

Rocky popularity over time

29,134 babies have been named Rocky since 1913, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 60 60 6 – #2,370
1920s – 158 158 16 +163% #1,515
1930s – 203 203 20 +28% #1,275
1940s 5 1,059 1,064 106 +424% #396
1950s 72 6,971 7,043 704 +562% #240
1960s 44 4,578 4,622 462 -34% #273
1970s 45 3,667 3,712 371 -20% #302
1980s 37 4,353 4,390 439 +18% #320
1990s – 1,756 1,756 176 -60% #657
2000s – 1,767 1,767 177 +1% #905
2010s 45 2,115 2,160 216 +22% #843
2020s (to 2025) 199 2,000 2,199 367 +70% #568

Where Rocky is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 566 0.33 outside top 500
2027 609 0.36 #495
2028 647 0.38 #472
2029 682 0.40 #457
2030 713 0.42 #442

Where Rocky is most popular

Boys named Rocky per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.201 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Hawaii, and Arizona.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Rocky born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Utah 103 1.08 +437%
Hawaii 11 0.708 +252%
Arizona 76 0.465 +131%
Washington 73 0.446 +122%
Oregon 31 0.408 +103%
Oklahoma 33 0.373 +86%
Colorado 48 0.372 +85%
New Mexico 12 0.364 +81%
Ohio 77 0.291 +45%
Michigan 59 0.288 +43%
Montana 5 0.284 +41%
California 241 0.264 +31%
Nevada 14 0.246 +22%
Louisiana 24 0.235 +17%
Tennessee 42 0.233 +16%
Nebraska 10 0.230 +14%
Missouri 31 0.224 +11%
Indiana 34 0.212 +5%
Texas 159 0.180 -10%
Florida 78 0.165 -18%
Iowa 11 0.160 -21%
Illinois 37 0.145 -28%
New Jersey 29 0.144 -28%
New York 57 0.132 -35%
Georgia 33 0.130 -35%
Pennsylvania 33 0.124 -38%
Minnesota 15 0.122 -39%
Virginia 21 0.111 -45%
Arkansas 6 0.095 -53%
Wisconsin 11 0.093 -54%
North Carolina 23 0.090 -55%
Kansas 5 0.073 -64%
Massachusetts 10 0.073 -64%
South Carolina 7 0.068 -66%
Alabama 7 0.064 -68%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Rocky

Rocky is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #568 in 2025 with 520 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1913, 29,134 American babies have been named Rocky. Its peak came in 1957, when 920 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Rocky stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rocky?

The median living Rocky is about 46 years old; half are between 27 and 65. An estimated 25 thousand people named Rocky are alive in the United States today.

median 46 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Rocky year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 43 #3,564 520 #568
2024 40 #3,805 419 #656
2023 31 #4,539 263 #886
2022 36 #4,094 268 #884
2021 27 #4,934 266 #870
2020 22 #5,624 264 #860
2019 16 #7,283 267 #843
2018 13 #8,520 237 #910
2017 10 #10,554 217 #960
2016 – – 217 #955
2015 6 #16,040 231 #927
2014 – – 211 #989
2013 – – 197 #998
2012 – – 188 #1,034
2011 – – 186 #1,027
2010 – – 164 #1,136
2009 – – 187 #1,032
2008 – – 197 #994
2007 – – 216 #918
2006 – – 189 #983
2005 – – 180 #971
2004 – – 159 #1,033
2003 – – 160 #995
2002 – – 148 #1,042
2001 – – 159 #972
2000 – – 172 #905
1995 – – 190 #781
1990 – – 235 #657
1985 – – 411 #423
1980 9 #7,247 599 #320
1975 – – 334 #430
1970 6 #7,773 254 #506
1965 7 #5,690 371 #410
1960 12 #3,874 858 #273
1955 8 #4,659 858 #240
1950 6 #5,177 300 #388
1945 – – 85 #655
1940 – – 22 #1,463
1935 – – 26 #1,348
1930 – – 18 #1,804
1925 – – 18 #1,923
1920 – – 20 #1,807
1915 – – 9 #2,788
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rocky

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Rocky Marciano Rocky Marciano American boxer (1923–1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson Canadian professional wrestler (1944–2020) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rocky Carroll Rocky Carroll American actor (born 1963) Contemporary
  4. 4 Rocky Graziano Rocky Graziano American boxer (1919–1990) Contemporary
  5. 5 Rocky Gray American musician b. 1974 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Rocky, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Rocky?

The median living Rocky is about 46 years old. Half of all living Rockys are between 27 and 65 years old.

How many people named Rocky are alive today?

An estimated 25 thousand people named Rocky are alive in the United States, based on 29,134 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rocky mean?

A diminutive of the male given names Robert, Ricky, Rocco, Roch, and Rock.

How popular is the name Rocky in 2025?

Rocky ranked #568 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 520 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rocky?

29,134 babies have been named Rocky in the United States since 1913, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rocky most popular?

Rocky peaked in 1957, when 920 newborns received the name.

Is Rocky a boy or girl name?

Rocky is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Rocky rising or falling?

Rocky is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rocky become more popular?

Rocky is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 713 boys named Rocky in 2030, which would rank around #442. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rocky?

Well-known people named Rocky include Rocky Marciano (boxer), Rocky Johnson (wrestler), Rocky Carroll (actor).

Names like Rocky

Names that sound and feel close to Rocky: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Rocky with similar names → More names starting with R →