Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2024

Rooney

Gender Unisex · 56% girls Rank 2025 #2,235 Trend ↑ Rising 38%

Rooney is the given name or common first name of the following people:Rooney Lee (1837–1891), an American planter, military general and politician.

Rank 2025
#2,235
among girls · ↓272 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
111
named Rooney · -21% vs 2024
How common
1 in 19,365
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2024
141 babies
All-time total
1,529
#8,344 all-time among girls
First recorded
1943
in Social Security records

Rooney popularity over time

1,529 babies have been named Rooney since 1943, 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
0.020.040.060.0818801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – 5 5 1 – –
1950s – 47 47 5 +840% –
1960s – 37 37 4 -21% –
1970s – 28 28 3 -24% –
1980s – 18 18 2 -36% –
1990s – 13 13 1 -28% –
2000s – 93 93 9 +615% –
2010s 346 268 614 61 +560% #2,455
2020s (to 2025) 512 162 674 112 +83% #1,963

Where Rooney is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 87 0.05 outside top 500
2027 91 0.06 outside top 500
2028 95 0.06 outside top 500
2029 98 0.06 outside top 500
2030 101 0.06 outside top 500

Where Rooney is most popular

Girls named Rooney per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.054 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, California, and Michigan.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Rooney 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Minnesota 11 0.102 +90%
California 59 0.070 +31%
Michigan 10 0.055 ≈ national
Washington 7 0.048 -10%
Illinois 10 0.044 -19%
Ohio 10 0.042 -22%
Pennsylvania 9 0.038 -29%
Arizona 5 0.036 -34%
Tennessee 5 0.032 -41%
New York 9 0.023 -58%
Texas 10 0.012 -77%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
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 Rooney

Rooney is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,235 in 2025 with 83 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1943, 1,529 American babies have been named Rooney, about 56% girls and 44% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2024, when 141 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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

How old are people named Rooney?

The median living Rooney is about 6 years old; half are between 3 and 12. An estimated 1,500 people named Rooney are alive in the United States today.

median 6 020406080100

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

Rooney 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 83 #2,235 28 #3,927
2024 101 #1,963 40 #3,090
2023 93 #2,087 23 #4,585
2022 91 #2,119 24 #4,409
2021 68 #2,580 24 #4,340
2020 76 #2,335 23 #4,395
2019 58 #2,886 21 #4,773
2018 73 #2,455 22 #4,582
2017 44 #3,540 20 #4,900
2016 38 #3,983 11 #7,508
2015 36 #4,133 26 #4,052
2014 38 #3,988 28 #3,758
2013 32 #4,519 32 #3,395
2012 21 #6,298 29 #3,696
2011 6 #16,379 44 #2,731
2010 – – 35 #3,228
2009 – – 23 #4,402
2008 – – 22 #4,511
2007 – – 19 #4,947
2006 – – 16 #5,478
2005 – – 7 #9,927
2004 – – 6 #11,070
2003 – – – –
2002 – – – –
2001 – – – –
2000 – – – –
1995 – – – –
1990 – – 5 #9,239
1985 – – – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – 8 #3,771
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – 5 #4,303
1950 – – 5 #4,115
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rooney

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

  1. 1 Rooney Mara Rooney Mara American actress (born 1985) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Rooney?

The median living Rooney is about 6 years old. Half of all living Rooneys are between 3 and 12 years old.

How many people named Rooney are alive today?

An estimated 1,500 people named Rooney are alive in the United States, based on 1,529 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rooney mean?

Rooney is the given name or common first name of the following people:Rooney Lee (1837–1891), an American planter, military general and politician.

How popular is the name Rooney in 2025?

Rooney ranked #2,235 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 83 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rooney?

1,529 babies have been named Rooney in the United States since 1943, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rooney most popular?

Rooney peaked in 2024, when 141 newborns received the name.

Is Rooney a boy or girl name?

Rooney is used for both: about 56% of babies named Rooney have been girls and 44% boys.

Is the name Rooney rising or falling?

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

Will Rooney become more popular?

Rooney is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 101 girls named Rooney 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 Rooney?

Well-known people named Rooney include Rooney Mara (actor).

Names like Rooney

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

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