Rodd
A Germanic given name possibly meaning "famous spear" or "famous power".
Name Census estimates that about 670 living Americans carry the first name Rodd. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rodd today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rodd births was 1969 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rodd. 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.
People living today
670
~ 1 in 511,574 Americans
Peak year
1969
49 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1991 SSA rank
#8,039
Tracked since 1948
Census
Rodd in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 727 people with the first name Rodd, which placed it at #15,730 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
#15,730
National first-name rank
People counted
727
727 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rodd
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rodd is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Rodd 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 Rodd at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 629
- Black or African American5.6% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 18
- Two or more races1.9% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Popularity
Rodd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rodd from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 334 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rodd 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 Rodd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rodds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Ohio, New York recorded the most babies named Rodd, while Iowa, Illinois, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rodd
The name Rodd is believed to have originated from the Old English word "rod," meaning a slender shoot or branch of a plant. This name likely emerged in England during the medieval period, possibly as a nickname or surname referring to someone who lived near a prominent rod or wooden staff.
In the early days, the name Rodd was primarily found in areas of England where Old English dialects were spoken, such as the counties of Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria. Over time, the spelling evolved from "Rod" to "Rodd," with the latter becoming more common by the 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rodd can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named "Rodocus" in Gloucestershire, which is likely a variant of the name Rodd.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rodd. One of the earliest was Sir John Rodd (1415-1487), a prominent English politician and diplomat who served as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland during the reign of Henry VI.
In the 18th century, Sir Renell Rodd (1742-1823) was a British naval officer who achieved fame for his role in the Battle of the Saintes during the American Revolutionary War. He later served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1807 to 1811.
The 19th century saw the rise of Sir James Rennell Rodd (1858-1941), a British diplomat and author who served as the British Ambassador to Italy from 1908 to 1919. He was knighted for his contributions to Anglo-Italian relations.
Another notable figure was Sir Rennell Rodd (1892-1963), a British naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to Antarctica in the early 20th century. He was awarded the Polar Medal for his contributions to polar exploration.
In the literary world, Rennell Rodd (1892-1958) was a British author and critic known for his works on English literature and his translations of ancient Greek and Roman texts.
These examples illustrate the long and diverse history of the name Rodd, which has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including politicians, military leaders, diplomats, explorers, and writers.
People
Rodd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rodd 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
Rodd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rodd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 670 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rodd 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 511,574 US residents.
Is Rodd a common name?
We classify Rodd as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 771 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rodd most popular?
The single biggest year for Rodd was 1969, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rodd is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rodd in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 727 people with the name Rodd, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,730 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 Rodd 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 Rodd?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rodd appears almost entirely male. Of the 732 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Rodd?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rodd is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Rodd most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rodd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (629 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 Rodd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rodd a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rodd 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 Rodd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rodd 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 Rodd 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 people have Rodd as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Rodd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.