Rod - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Rod

The name Rod, a masculine forename within the Anglo-American tradition, traces its etymology to the Old Germanic Roderick, composed of the elements hrod (“fame” or “renown”) and ric (“ruler”); as a diminutive form, Rod condenses this compound to a single syllable, rendered in English as /rɑd/ in American usage and /rɒd/ in British contexts. Statistical records from mid-twentieth-century Oregon, where it sporadically ranked among the top one hundred male names between the 1940s and 1960s, attest to its moderate regional prevalence before a gradual diminution in subsequent decades. Phonologically concise and semantically weighty, Rod embodies an austere yet assertive quality, consonant with a naming convention that prizes both brevity and etymological substance. Although its contemporary frequency has waned, the name endures through its attachment to figures in literature, music and public life, thereby securing a discreet continuity within the broader corpus of Anglo-American appellations.