Rod
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Meaning
a short form of Roderick, "famous ruler", or Rodney, from a place name meaning "Hroda’s island"
The formal names behind Rod
Rod is an established short form of each of these names.
Rodney · English origin · English surname from a place name meaning 'Hroda's island', Hroda meaning 'fame'
Roderick · Germanic origin · famous ruler
How popular is Rod around the world?
In the United States, Rod is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025. In Canada, 5 boys named Rod were born in 2024, ranked 3,231st among boys that year.
Rod is on the official records of the United States and Canada.
United States
on record
In the United States, Rod is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rod peaked in the 1950s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 73,000
In Canada, 5 boys named Rod were born in 2024, ranked 3,231st among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
England and Wales
last on record 1996
Rod is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Ireland
last on record 1992
Rod 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 1989
Rod 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
South Australia
last on record 1982
Rod is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 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 11 other recordsWhy
- Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Scotland 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 the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
- Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only).
- Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
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The Rod deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rod 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 Rod fits with your family’s names and surname.
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