Rodrigus
Ancient Germanic name meaning "famous power".
Name Census estimates that about 48 living Americans carry the first name Rodrigus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rodrigus today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rodrigus births was 1981 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rodrigus. 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 Rodrigus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
48
~ 1 in 7,140,715 Americans
Peak year
1981
10 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,218
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Rodrigus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rodrigus from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 40 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rodrigus 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 Rodrigus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rodrigus' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rodrigus
The given name Rodrigus has its origins in the Visigothic language, which was spoken by the Visigoths, a Germanic people who ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France from the 5th to the 8th century AD. The name is derived from the Germanic elements "hrod" meaning "fame" and "ric" meaning "power" or "ruler".
Rodrigus was a relatively common name among the Visigoths and was likely borne by many individuals during their time of rule in the Iberian Peninsula. However, few specific historical records survive that mention individuals with this name from that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rodrigus is found in the 9th century chronicle known as the "Chronicle of Alfonso III". This text mentions a Visigothic king named Rodrigus who ruled in the early 8th century and whose reign coincided with the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Another notable figure named Rodrigus was a 12th century Galician nobleman and knight who participated in the Reconquista, the Christian re-conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. His exploits are recorded in several contemporary chronicles and he is believed to have been born around 1130 and died sometime in the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, a Spanish priest and theologian named Rodrigus Ximenez de Rada served as the Archbishop of Toledo and wrote several influential historical works, including a chronicle of Spain. He lived from around 1170 to 1247.
Later, in the 15th century, a Portuguese explorer named Rodrigo de Triana was the first person to sight land in the Americas during Christopher Columbus' famous voyage in 1492. His birth and death dates are uncertain, but he was likely born in the mid-15th century.
Finally, in the 16th century, a Spanish Jesuit missionary named Rodrigo de Cabredo worked among the indigenous peoples of what is now Paraguay. He was born around 1530 and died in 1599.
While the name Rodrigus has its roots in the Visigothic language and culture, it has been used throughout various regions and time periods in Europe, particularly in Spain, Portugal, and parts of Latin America, often in the more common spelling variants of Rodrigo or Ruy.
People
Rodrigus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rodrigus 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
Rodrigus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rodrigus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 48 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rodrigus 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 7,140,715 US residents.
Is Rodrigus a common name?
We classify Rodrigus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rodrigus most popular?
The single biggest year for Rodrigus was 1981, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rodrigus is about 42 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 Rodrigus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rodrigus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rodrigus 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 Rodrigus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rodrigus 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 Rodrigus 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 common is the name Rodrigus?
You can see how many people have the name Rodrigus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.