Given name & surname · also Germanic
Rodrigo
“famous ruler”
Rodrigo is a masculine given name from Gothic, ultimately from Proto-Germanic. It is used in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Tagalog, and 3 other languages.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Rodrigo goes back to Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīks, meaning “famous ruler.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
How it developed
From Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐍉𐌸𐌹𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīks (“famous ruler”), built from Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐍉𐌸𐍃 + 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1918. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Rodrigo is a variant of Roderick. The history of Roderick gives this family its wider story. Walter Scott’s The Vision of Don Roderick helped revive the name in the nineteenth century, using it for the Spanish king Rodrigo. Roderick has also served as an English rendering of Gaelic Ruairidh and Welsh Rhydderch, without making those names etymologically identical. In Spanish use, Rodrigo has a related form in Ruy. The history of Ruy gives this family its wider story. Ruy was in use during the Middle Ages.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Rodrigo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 27,759
- 27,754 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 1,177 babies
- 2025
- 614
- #492 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 614 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 492 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,177 in 2007. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (195). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 43,705 as a first name in 2020; 1,548 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.
Rodrigo’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Rodrigo has a diminutive in RODY. Rodrigo shares a linguistic root with Roderick. In Spanish usage, Rodrigo has a conventional equivalent in the Catalan form Roderic.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Rodrigo has relatives in 18 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
21 related names in 18 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 14
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Rodrigo
- Rodrigo DutertePresident of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 (born 1945)
- RodriSpanish association football player (born 1996)
- Rodrigo De PaulArgentine association football player (born 1994)
- Rodrigo BentancurUruguayan association football playerborn 1997
- Rodrigo PalacioArgentine association football playerborn 1982
- Rodrigo SantoroBrazilian actorborn 1975
- RodrigoSpanish association football playerborn 1991
- Rodrigo PazPresident of Boliviaborn 1967
- Rodrigo TaddeiBrazilian footballer (born 1980)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Rodrigo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Fernando
“a courageous voyager”
>99% boys
Odorico
“wealth, riches” · “king, ruler”
>99% boys
Fedrico
“peace king”
>99% boys
Alderico
“old”
>99% boys
Folderich
“earth,land” · “king, ruler”
>99% boys
Brandariz
“sword” · “king”
—
Friederich
“peace”
93% boys · 7% girls
Udo
“one who is prosperous” · “one who is peaceful”
>99% boys