Rhodesia
The feminine name of Greek origin meaning "rose-like".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Rhodesia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rhodesia today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rhodesia births was 1977 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rhodesia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rhodesia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
1977
12 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1992 SSA rank
#12,970
Tracked since 1966
Census
Rhodesia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Rhodesia, which placed it at #45,340 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhodesia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhodesia is Black at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rhodesia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rhodesia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.3% · 122
- Two or more races6.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 9
- White4.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Rhodesia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rhodesia from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 67 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rhodesia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rhodesia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rhodesia
The given name Rhodesia has its roots in Ancient Greek, derived from the word "rhodon," meaning "rose." The name first emerged in the region known as Rhodes, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, around the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Rhodesia was the name of a minor goddess associated with the island of Rhodes. She was said to be the daughter of the god Poseidon and the nymph Halia. This connection to Greek mythology likely contributed to the popularity of the name in ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Rhodesia can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BCE. He mentioned a woman named Rhodesia in his accounts of the Greco-Persian Wars.
During the Hellenistic period, which lasted from the 4th to the 1st century BCE, the name Rhodesia gained wider recognition across the Mediterranean region. It was particularly popular among the ruling classes and aristocracy of the time.
In the 3rd century BCE, a notable figure named Rhodesia of Cyrene lived in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, located in modern-day Libya. She was a philosopher and mathematician, known for her contributions to the field of geometry.
Another historical figure bearing the name Rhodesia was a Byzantine empress who lived in the 6th century CE. Empress Rhodesia of Constantinople was the wife of Emperor Justin II and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Byzantine Empire.
In the 12th century CE, a woman named Rhodesia of Antioch gained recognition for her skills as a poet and scholar. She was part of the literary circles of the Crusader states in the Levant region.
During the Renaissance period, the name Rhodesia experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. One notable figure from this time was Rhodesia Borgia, born in 1480, who was a member of the powerful Borgia family and known for her intelligence and political acumen.
Rhodesia Chiaramonti, born in 1540, was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who played a significant role in the cultural life of Renaissance Italy.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Rhodesia, reflecting its ancient Greek origins and its association with various cultures and historical periods.
People
Rhodesia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rhodesia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rhodesia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rhodesia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rhodesia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Rhodesia a common name?
We classify Rhodesia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 95 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rhodesia most popular?
The single biggest year for Rhodesia was 1977, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rhodesia is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rhodesia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Rhodesia, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rhodesia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rhodesia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rhodesia leans strongly female. 150 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rhodesia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rhodesia is Black at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rhodesia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rhodesia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (122 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rhodesia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rhodesia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rhodesia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rhodesia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rhodesia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rhodesia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Rhodesia?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Rhodesia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.