Given name & surname · also German
Rodney
“from the famous one's island”·“from the island's clearing”
Rodney is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “from the famous one's island” and “from the island's clearing”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “from the famous one's island” and “from the island's clearing”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with German and English naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Rodney through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 248,325
- 247,150 boys · 1,175 girls
- Most popular year
- 1965
- 11,132 babies
- 2025
- 197
- #1,093 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −27%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 197 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,093 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 27.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 11,086 in 1965. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (19). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 172,298 as a first name in 2020; 3,986 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Rodney’s family of names
In English usage, Rodney has a nickname in Rod. Rodney has a related form in Rodny. Rodney has a short form in Rod.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Roddneylikely variant
- Rodnickname · English
- Rodneevariant
- Rodnievariant
- Rodnyvariant
- Rodnneylikely variant
- Roddersnickname · English
- Radneyvariant · English
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Rodney
- Rodney PorterEnglish biochemist and Nobel laureate (1917–1985)
- Rodney KingAfrican American police brutality victim (1965–2012)
- YokozunaAmerican professional wrestler (1966-2000)
- Rodney WilliamsGovernor-General of Antigua and Barbuda (born 1947)
- Rodney MullenAmerican professional skateboarderborn 1966
- Rodney StrasserSierra Leonean footballerborn 1990
- Rodney WallaceCosta Rican footballerborn 1988
- Rodney StuckeyAmerican basketball player (born 1986)
- Rod MilburnAmerican athlete (1950–1997)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Rodney, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Roderick
Roderick has Germanic roots, with later Scottish and Welsh uses that follow different paths.
>99% boys
Jeffrey
“a man of peace”
>99% boys
Roger
“fame-spear”
>99% boys
Ron
“song of Joy”
>99% boys
Randall
“the wolf shield”
>99% boys
Darren
“a great man” · “a gift from God”
>99% boys
Randy
“lustful”
99% boys · 1% girls
Rusty
“a red-haired woman; a fiery woman” · “one who has red hair or a ruddy complexion”
98% boys · 2% girls