Rockefeller
One associated with rocky terrain, with potential connotations of wealth or power.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Rockefeller. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rockefeller today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rockefeller births was 2019 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rockefeller. 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 Rockefeller. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2019
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,723
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Rockefeller: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Rockefeller 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 Rockefeller during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Rockefeller
The name Rockefeller does not have a long or storied history as a given name. It appears to be a surname that was popularized in modern times by the wealthy American industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), who was the founder of the Standard Oil Company and one of the richest people in American history.
The surname Rockefeller is believed to have originated from the German word "Rockenfeld," which means "field of distaff" or "field of spindles." This suggests that the name may have referred to a location or place name in Germany where people worked with spindles or distaffs used for spinning thread or yarn.
There are no known ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records that mention the name Rockefeller as a given name prior to the 19th century. The earliest recorded example of the name being used as a given name is likely in reference to John D. Rockefeller himself or members of his family.
Besides John D. Rockefeller, some other notable people throughout history who have had the first name Rockefeller include:
1. Rockefeller McCormick (1921-2016), an American lawyer and businessman who was a member of the Rockefeller family.
2. Rockefeller Twyman (1933-2023), an American civil rights activist and educator.
3. Rockefeller Scranton (1808-1859), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
4. Rockefeller Sanford (1842-1918), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
5. Rockefeller Billings (1835-1921), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
It is important to note that the name Rockefeller is primarily associated with the wealthy American family and their business and philanthropic endeavors, rather than being a widely used given name in its own right.
People
Rockefeller + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rockefeller 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
Rockefeller: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rockefeller?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rockefeller 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Rockefeller a common name?
We classify Rockefeller as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rockefeller most popular?
The single biggest year for Rockefeller was 2019, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rockefeller is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rockefeller in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rockefeller a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rockefeller 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.
Is Rockefeller still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rockefeller 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 Rockefeller 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Rockefeller?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.