boys' name ★ peaked 1965

Rodney

Meaning Hroda Gender Boy Rank 2025 #1,093 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

From Old English placename Hrōdanīeġ, Hrōdanīġ (literally “Hroda's island”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”) and *awjō (“island”).

Rank 2025
#1,093
among boys · ↓13 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
197
named Rodney · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 8,670
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1965
11,132 babies
All-time total
248,325
#157 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Rodney popularity over time

248,325 babies have been named Rodney since 1880, 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 112 112 11 – #504
1890s – 162 162 16 +45% #422
1900s – 194 194 19 +20% #406
1910s 5 1,775 1,780 178 +818% #313
1920s 36 4,519 4,555 456 +156% #223
1930s 34 9,695 9,729 973 +114% #122
1940s 84 24,846 24,930 2,493 +156% #87
1950s 147 54,817 54,964 5,496 +120% #58
1960s 363 72,194 72,557 7,256 +32% #33
1970s 299 37,446 37,745 3,775 -48% #55
1980s 171 17,872 18,043 1,804 -52% #121
1990s 27 12,122 12,149 1,215 -33% #181
2000s 9 6,466 6,475 648 -47% #342
2010s – 3,624 3,624 362 -44% #549
2020s (to 2025) – 1,306 1,306 218 -40% #864

Where Rodney 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 189 0.11 outside top 500
2027 183 0.11 outside top 500
2028 177 0.10 outside top 500
2029 173 0.10 outside top 500
2030 169 0.10 outside top 500

Where Rodney is most popular

Boys named Rodney per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.121 per 1,000. Strongest in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.

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 Rodney 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
Alabama 40 0.366 +203%
Mississippi 14 0.246 +104%
Georgia 58 0.229 +89%
North Carolina 52 0.204 +68%
Michigan 41 0.200 +66%
Louisiana 20 0.196 +62%
Tennessee 31 0.172 +42%
Florida 81 0.171 +42%
Ohio 42 0.158 +31%
West Virginia 5 0.153 +27%
Missouri 21 0.152 +25%
Pennsylvania 34 0.128 +6%
Maryland 14 0.117 ≈ national
Texas 102 0.116 ≈ national
Virginia 21 0.111 -8%
South Carolina 11 0.106 -12%
California 70 0.077 -37%
Massachusetts 10 0.073 -40%
Oklahoma 6 0.068 -44%
New York 28 0.065 -46%
Illinois 16 0.063 -48%
Kentucky 6 0.060 -51%
New Jersey 12 0.060 -51%
Minnesota 6 0.049 -60%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -65%
Colorado 5 0.039 -68%
Indiana 5 0.031 -74%
Washington 5 0.031 -75%
Arizona 5 0.031 -75%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Rodney

Rodney is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,093 in 2025 with 197 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 248,325 American babies have been named Rodney. Its peak came in 1965, when 11,132 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

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 Rodney stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rodney?

The median living Rodney is about 59 years old; half are between 49 and 67. An estimated 191 thousand people named Rodney are alive in the United States today.

median 59 020406080100

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

Rodney 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 – – 197 #1,093
2024 – – 202 #1,080
2023 – – 183 #1,148
2022 – – 228 #990
2021 – – 234 #962
2020 – – 262 #864
2019 – – 262 #854
2018 – – 273 #821
2017 – – 301 #782
2016 – – 341 #719
2015 – – 347 #716
2014 – – 357 #697
2013 – – 392 #629
2012 – – 430 #594
2011 – – 461 #554
2010 – – 460 #549
2009 – – 554 #494
2008 – – 545 #503
2007 – – 639 #438
2006 – – 606 #447
2005 – – 579 #447
2004 – – 602 #432
2003 – – 688 #379
2002 – – 714 #370
2001 – – 740 #358
2000 9 #10,556 799 #342
1995 – – 1,099 #256
1990 7 #11,098 1,710 #181
1985 18 #4,412 1,621 #168
1980 25 #3,394 2,266 #121
1975 31 #2,554 3,583 #76
1970 36 #2,232 5,856 #55
1965 46 #1,665 11,086 #33
1960 27 #2,288 5,865 #68
1955 15 #3,069 6,047 #65
1950 9 #3,904 3,856 #88
1945 9 #3,343 2,185 #105
1940 7 #3,792 1,397 #133
1935 – – 1,027 #149
1930 7 #3,983 639 #208
1925 5 #5,633 447 #271
1920 – – 353 #304
1915 – – 235 #349
1910 – – 34 #477
1905 – – 20 #520
1900 – – 21 #530
1895 – – 19 #472
1890 – – 19 #422
1885 – – 13 #542
1880 – – 13 #520

Famous people named Rodney

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

  1. 1 Rodney Alcala Rodney Alcala American serial killer (1943–2021) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield American stand-up comedian (1921–2004) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rodney King Rodney King Black American victim of police brutality (1965–2012) Contemporary
  4. 4 Rodney Mullen Rodney Mullen American professional skateboarder b. 1966 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Rodney Jerkins Rodney Jerkins American record producer (born 1977) Contemporary
  6. 6 Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell American country music singer and songwriter (born 1950) Contemporary
  7. 7 Rodney Hood Rodney Hood American basketball player (born 1992) Contemporary
  8. 8 Rodney Stuckey Rodney Stuckey American basketball player (born 1986) Contemporary
  9. 9 Rodney Williams Rodney Williams Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda since 2014 b. 1947 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Rodney Sneijder Rodney Sneijder Dutch footballer (born 1991) Contemporary
  11. 11 Rodney Strasser Sierra Leonean footballer b. 1990 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Rodney Wallace Rodney Wallace Costa Rican football player (born 1988) Contemporary
  13. 13 Rodney Robert Porter Rodney Robert Porter English biochemist 1917–1985 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Rodney?

The median living Rodney is about 59 years old. Half of all living Rodneys are between 49 and 67 years old.

How many people named Rodney are alive today?

An estimated 191 thousand people named Rodney are alive in the United States, based on 248,325 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rodney mean?

From Old English placename Hrōdanīeġ, Hrōdanīġ (literally “Hroda's island”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōþiz (“fame”) and *awjō (“island”).

How popular is the name Rodney in 2025?

Rodney ranked #1,093 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 197 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rodney?

248,325 babies have been named Rodney in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rodney most popular?

Rodney peaked in 1965, when 11,132 newborns received the name.

Is Rodney a boy or girl name?

Rodney is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Rodney rising or falling?

Rodney is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rodney become more popular?

Rodney is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 169 boys named Rodney in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rodney?

Well-known people named Rodney include Rodney Alcala (extremist), Rodney Dangerfield (comedian), Rodney King (celebrity).

Names like Rodney

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

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