Rodriguez
A Spanish surname derived from the given name "Rodrigo", meaning "famous ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 906 living Americans carry the first name Rodriguez. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Rodriguez today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rodriguez births was 1981 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rodriguez. 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
906
~ 1 in 378,316 Americans
Peak year
1981
47 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2017 SSA rank
#8,994
Tracked since 1955
Gender
Gender distribution for Rodriguez
Out of the 957 babies given the name Rodriguez since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Rodriguez as a male name
- Ranked #9,511 in 2017
- 8 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1981 (47 births)
Rodriguez as a female name
- Ranked #8,994 in 1970
- 5 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1970 (5 births)
Popularity
Rodriguez: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rodriguez from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 277 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rodriguez 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 Rodriguez during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rodriguez' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Rodriguez, while South Carolina, Michigan, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rodriguez
The given name Rodriguez has its origins rooted in the Spanish language and culture. It emerged during the medieval period in the Iberian Peninsula, which encompasses modern-day Spain and Portugal. The name is derived from the Spanish surname "Rodríguez," which itself is a patronymic form of the name "Rodrigo."
Rodriguez is a masculine given name, and its etymology can be traced back to the Germanic name "Roderick," which means "famous power" or "renowned ruler." This name was popularized in the region due to the influence of the Visigoths, a Germanic people who ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula during the 5th to 8th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rodriguez can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid," which chronicles the life of the Castilian knight Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, also known as El Cid. This literary work played a significant role in popularizing the name throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the given name Rodriguez. One such figure was Rodrigo de Bastidas (c. 1460-1526), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who was among the first Europeans to explore the Caribbean coast of present-day Colombia and Panama.
Another prominent individual was Rodrigo de Triana (fl. 1492), a sailor on Christopher Columbus's crew who is credited with being the first to sight land in the Americas on October 12, 1492, during their voyage to the New World.
In the realm of art, Rodrigo Alemán (c. 1625-1689) was a renowned Spanish Golden Age painter known for his religious works and portraiture, while Rodrigo de Villandrando (1588-1623) was a celebrated Spanish composer and musician during the Renaissance period.
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid (c. 1043-1099), was a Castilian nobleman and skilled military leader who played a crucial role in the Reconquista, the centuries-long struggle between Christian and Moorish forces for control of the Iberian Peninsula.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the given name Rodriguez, which has its roots deeply intertwined with the rich cultural heritage of the Spanish-speaking world.
People
Rodriguez + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rodriguez 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
Rodriguez: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rodriguez?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 906 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rodriguez 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 378,316 US residents.
Is Rodriguez a common name?
We classify Rodriguez as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 957 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rodriguez most popular?
The single biggest year for Rodriguez was 1981, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rodriguez is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rodriguez a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Rodriguez 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.