Boys' name · peaked in 1965
Rodney name popularity since 1925
244,171 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Rodney. Half of them were born in 1965 or earlier, so the typical Rodney is about 61 years old in 2026. Rodney peaked in 1965 as the #33 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 244,171
- Named Rodney, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,093 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 1,164 girls · 243,007 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.59× its national share
Peak year is the year Rodney made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Rodney births per year, 1925–2025
1965 was the biggest year for Rodney both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1960 and 1965, Rodney became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 364 baby boys to 1 in 168.
- Steepest fall: Between 1966 and 1971, its share of baby boys fell by 49%, from 1 in 174 to 1 in 340.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Rodney's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Rodney.
Decade by decade
Babies named Rodney in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 30 | 2,619 | – |
| 1930s | 34 | 9,695 | #149 |
| 1940s | 84 | 24,846 | #105 |
| 1950s | 147 | 54,817 | #65 |
| 1960s | 363 | 72,194 | #33 |
| 1970s | 299 | 37,446 | #76 |
| 1980s | 171 | 17,872 | #168 |
| 1990s | 27 | 12,122 | #256 |
| 2000s | 9 | 6,466 | #447 |
| 2010s | 0 | 3,624 | #716 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,306 | #1,093 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
39.9% of babies named Rodney from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Rodney is most popular
The index compares Rodney's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Rodney.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.59× | 1,991 |
| Hawaii | 2.38× | 1,815 |
| South Dakota | 2.26× | 1,755 |
| Nebraska | 2.12× | 3,621 |
| West Virginia | 1.80× | 3,864 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Rodney's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Rodney.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Rodney (1965).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data