Rockne
From Old Norse, meaning rocky field or meadow on a sloping rock.
Name Census estimates that about 261 living Americans carry the first name Rockne. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rockne today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rockne births was 1931 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rockne. 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 Rockne is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rocknes were born before 1970.
People living today
261
~ 1 in 1,313,235 Americans
Peak year
1931
17 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
2009 SSA rank
#12,167
Tracked since 1931
Popularity
Rockne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rockne from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 122 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
Rockne 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 Rockne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rocknes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rockne
The given name Rockne is a relatively modern name, originating in the early 20th century. It is an Anglicized form of the Norwegian surname Rockne, which itself is derived from the Old Norse word "røkn," meaning "narrative" or "story." The name is closely associated with Knute Rockne, the legendary football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1918 to 1930.
Knute Rockne, born Knut Rockne in 1888 in Voss, Norway, is considered one of the greatest coaches in American football history. He popularized the forward pass, revolutionized the game's strategy, and led Notre Dame to national prominence. Rockne tragically died in a plane crash in 1931 at the age of 43, but his legacy lives on through the widespread use of his surname as a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Rockne as a first name was Rockne Kreitzburg, an American football player born in 1933. He played for the University of Notre Dame under Coach Frank Leahy, who had been an assistant to Knute Rockne. This early association with Notre Dame football solidified Rockne as a popular name choice for baby boys in the mid-20th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rockne Tarkington, an American artist and painter born in 1935. Tarkington was known for his abstract expressionist works and was a part of the New York art scene in the 1960s and 1970s. His use of the name Rockne likely reflected the popularity of the name during that time period.
Rockne O'Bannon, born in 1957, is an American television writer and producer best known for creating the science fiction series "Farscape." His unique first name reflects the enduring influence of Knute Rockne on American culture, even decades after his death.
Finally, Rockne Brubaker, born in 1947, was an American professional wrestler and actor. He performed under the ring name "Rockne Tupper" during his wrestling career, which spanned from the 1970s to the 1990s. The use of Rockne as part of his wrestling persona demonstrates the name's association with athleticism and strength, likely influenced by its connection to Knute Rockne's coaching legacy.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rockne
People
Rockne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rockne 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
Rockne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rockne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rockne 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 1,313,235 US residents.
Is Rockne a common name?
We classify Rockne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 398 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rockne most popular?
The single biggest year for Rockne was 1931, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rockne is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rockne a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rockne 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.