Fun Facts About the Name Rochester
- 463 babies named Rochester: U.S. records list 463 babies given the name Rochester from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Rochester Mean?
Rochester is an English place name meaning "Hrof's Roman fort" or "the Roman fort called Hrof." It comes from the Old English Hrofesceaster, formed from an Old English personal name, Hrof, and ceaster, a word for a Roman fort or walled town that was borrowed from Latin castra, "camp." The first element is the uncertain part: Hrof is usually taken as a personal name, but its meaning is not securely known. The second element is clear and appears in many English place names that grew up at Roman sites. The name is not originally a given name; it is a habitation name that later became a surname and only occasionally a first name.
Rochester Name History & Origins
The place name is attested in Old English as Hrofesceaster, the name of the Roman town at Rochester in Kent. Bede, writing in the early eighth century, uses Hrofesceaster for the Kentish town, and the form was later shortened and altered to Rochester in Middle English. The same pattern appears in other English place names ending in -chester, -caster, or -cester, all from ceaster. The surname Rochester developed from the place name, used by people who came from one of the English towns called Rochester.
As a given name, Rochester is a transferred use of the surname, and it remains uncommon in the English-speaking world. Its best-known literary association is as a surname: Edward Fairfax Rochester, the master of Thornfield Hall in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847). A later familiar use is Rochester Van Jones, the valet in the American radio and television series The Jack Benny Program. Both are fictional uses, and they do not show that Rochester was a common first name; the documented basis for the given name is the English place name and surname.
How Popular is the Name Rochester?
Rochester has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1944. Its best rank was #1,471 in 1944.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | #4,809 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #2,738 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #3,237 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #3,585 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #3,006 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1961 | #2,867 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1959 | #3,539 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #2,989 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #1,827 | 20 | 0.0009% |
| 1956 | #2,245 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1955 | #2,936 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1954 | #3,404 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #3,097 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #2,352 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1951 | #2,629 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #2,981 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #2,203 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1948 | #2,200 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1947 | #2,055 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1946 | #2,010 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1945 | #2,365 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1944 | #1,471 | 22 | 0.0016% |
| 1943 | #1,624 | 20 | 0.0014% |
| 1942 | #2,028 | 14 | 0.0010% |
| 1941 | #1,978 | 14 | 0.0011% |
| 1940 | #2,065 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1939 | #2,783 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1937 | #2,637 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1936 | #2,275 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1935 | #4,057 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #4,188 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1930 | #2,972 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1929 | #3,494 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1928 | #3,644 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1927 | #3,394 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1926 | #3,093 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #3,674 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1924 | #2,793 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1923 | #4,162 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1921 | #4,244 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #3,758 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1919 | #3,078 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1918 | #3,643 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1917 | #2,697 | 10 | 0.0011% |
| 1916 | #3,451 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1915 | #3,337 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1914 | #3,198 | 6 | 0.0009% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with R
How the Name Rochester Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Rochester's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Rochester's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.