Rocke
Of Old German origin, referring to rock or stone.
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Rocke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rocke today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rocke births was 1960 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rocke. 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
- • The typical person named Rocke is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rockes were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rocke. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
1960
8 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1970 SSA rank
#5,294
Tracked since 1949
Popularity
Rocke: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rocke from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 21 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rocke 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 Rocke 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 Rocke
The given name Rocke is a variant of the name Rock, which has its origins in the Old English language. The name is derived from the Old English word "rocc," meaning a large mass of stone or a rock formation. This suggests that the name Rocke was likely bestowed upon individuals who were associated with or lived near prominent rock formations or areas with rocky terrains.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century, the name Rocke or its variations were commonly used as a descriptive surname or byname to identify a person's occupation, location, or physical characteristics. It was not uncommon for these bynames to eventually become established as given names within families or communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rocke can be found in the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book lists several individuals with the surname "de Roche" or "de la Roche," which is derived from the Old French word for rock.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rocke. One of the earliest was Rocke Geydon (c. 1290 – c. 1350), an English landowner and Member of Parliament from Worcestershire during the reign of Edward III. Another prominent figure was Rocke Huntington (c. 1530 – 1598), an English merchant and explorer who was part of the first English expedition to establish trade relations with Morocco.
In the 17th century, Rocke Fermoure (1612 – 1688) was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and author who played a significant role in the religious and political affairs of Scotland during the Covenanter Uprising. A century later, Rocke Hamilton (1738 – 1804) was an Irish-born British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a Member of Parliament in Ireland.
The name Rocke also has a connection to the arts, with Rocke Krasinski (1840 – 1919) being a notable Polish-American painter and sculptor who was part of the Boston School of American Impressionism. His works are held in various museums and private collections across the United States.
While the name Rocke has its roots in Old English and Anglo-Saxon origins, it has been used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, with each bearer contributing to the rich tapestry of history associated with this distinctive name.
People
Rocke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rocke 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
Rocke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rocke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rocke 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Rocke a common name?
We classify Rocke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 46 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rocke most popular?
The single biggest year for Rocke was 1960, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rocke is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rocke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rocke in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.