Rodgers
An English surname derived from the occupational name "Roger" meaning "famous spear."
Name Census estimates that about 219 living Americans carry the first name Rodgers. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rodgers today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rodgers births was 1951 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rodgers. 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 Rodgers is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rodgers' were born before 1965.
People living today
219
~ 1 in 1,565,088 Americans
Peak year
1951
18 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1981 SSA rank
#7,061
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Rodgers: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rodgers from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 105 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rodgers 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 Rodgers during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rodgers' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rodgers
The name Rodgers is derived from the Old Germanic root word "hrod," which means "fame" or "renown." It likely originated in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 8th centuries, as Germanic tribes spread across Europe. The name was initially spelled with variations such as Hrodgar, Hrodger, and Rodger, before settling on the modern spelling of Rodgers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the epic poem Beowulf, which dates back to between the 8th and 11th centuries. In the poem, Hrodgar is the name of the Danish king who built the famous mead-hall, Heorot. This literary reference suggests that the name was already in use among Germanic peoples during the early medieval period.
In the 12th century, a prominent figure named Rodger de Beaumont served as the Bishop of St. Andrews in Scotland. He played a significant role in the ecclesiastical and political affairs of the time, further cementing the name's presence in historical records.
During the Renaissance, the name gained popularity in England and other parts of Europe. One notable individual was Rodger Ascham (1515-1568), an English scholar and tutor to Queen Elizabeth I. He was renowned for his work on education and his advocacy for the use of vernacular languages in teaching.
In the 17th century, Rodger Williams (1603-1683) was an English Protestant theologian and a key figure in the establishment of the colony of Rhode Island. He was a champion of religious freedom and is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rodgers Brewster (1839-1919), an American architect who designed several significant buildings in Washington, D.C., including the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the United States National Museum (now the Arts and Industries Building).
While the name Rodgers has its roots in the Old Germanic language, it has spread across various cultures and regions over the centuries, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, from literature and education to religion and architecture.
People
Rodgers + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rodgers 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
Rodgers: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rodgers?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rodgers 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 1,565,088 US residents.
Is Rodgers a common name?
We classify Rodgers as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rodgers most popular?
The single biggest year for Rodgers was 1951, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rodgers is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rodgers a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rodgers 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.