Rocky
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Meaning
rock, stone (English nickname name); immortalized by Rocky Balboa in Rocky (1976)
The story
Rocky is exactly what it sounds like, an English nickname name meaning rock or stone, worn like a badge of toughness. It entered American records early in the twentieth century and picked up noticeably at midcentury, just as Rocky Marciano was retiring as the only heavyweight champion to leave the ring undefeated; the timing lines up, even if nobody can prove it. Then in 1976 Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the film took Best Picture, and the name became permanent shorthand for the underdog who refuses to stay down. The surprise is in the data: Rocky's best decades on the American chart are not the 1970s at all but right now, the 2010s and 2020s, its strongest showing on record. Every generation, it seems, eventually wants a fighter in the family.
The formal names behind Rocky
Rocky is an established short form of this name.
Rocco · Germanic origin · Italian form of an old Germanic name, its root debated: read as 'rest' in one tradition, 'crow' in another
How popular is Rocky around the world?
In the United States, 2,199 babies were named Rocky between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 20 boys named Rocky were registered in 2025.
Rocky is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, England and Wales, Canada, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 9,900
In the United States, 2,199 babies were named Rocky between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rocky peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Rocky has stayed between 1,756 and 7,043 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 2,900
In New Zealand, 20 boys named Rocky were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 7,900
In England and Wales, 74 boys named Rocky were born in 2025, the 522nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 32 boys named Rocky were born in 2024, the 808th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Rocky was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 1.4M
In Spain, 32 residents are named Rocky, ranked 21,007th among men, with a mean age of 32.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2013
Rocky is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 86 people in Brazil were named Rocky, ranked 45,833rd, with a median age of 36.
Among people named Rocky living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
last on record 2024
Rocky is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Ireland
last on record 2024
Rocky is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Montevideo City
last on record 1988
Rocky is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Scotland
last on record 2022
Rocky is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2016
Rocky is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Rocky
People given the name Rocky in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Rocky deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rocky truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Rocky fits with your family’s names and surname.
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